Angelic Strife
by Einjeru Hatake
Summary: A young girl in the Leaf was put under the care of Kakashi. Even though it was just a simple mission and the girl could keep up for herself, both Kakashi and her find out a lot about each other causing him to become attached, and the bonds forged with others make the Hidden Leaf stronger than ever. I don't own Naruto just Einjeru and the other OCs
1. Chapter 1

Beginnings

It was a hot day in the Hidden Leaf village and a young girl was wandering around the village. She was orphaned and had no one to feed her, clothe her, or give a place to stay. She had been on the streets for quite a while. She left the orphanage due to certain circumstances. She learned enough to protect herself against the civilians, but there were ANBU that would be watching her. She was afraid of what would happen if they got involved. She wasn't equipped to handle herself against ninja.

The Hokage was watching her and summoned an ANBU with silver hair to his office. "You requested me Lord Hokage?" The Hokage turned to him and said "There's a young girl in the village. She is very adept and knows of the ANBU watching her." The ANBU turned to say "Did you want me to bring her to you?" The Hokage nodded and said "Do it in your civilian clothes. This girl is much like young Naruto Uzumaki. We don't want to scare her."

At the same time both Naruto and the girl were being chased by their respective mobs. Naruto had defiled the Hokage stone faces again and the girl for being around Naruto. The ANBU was watching both of them and followed the girl.

He then went to his normal reading bench because he had a hunch that she would be going in that direction. In his civilian clothes he sat down and pulled out his make-out paradise book. The girl came running and tripped over his leg.

She looked and saw his headband. She gulped and said "I-I'm very sorry. Please don't hurt me." He looked at the girl and picked her up "I won't hurt you. Do you want to come with me?" She remained quiet and rested on his shoulder. He held her tight as he teleported to Lord Hokage's office.

The hokage said "Ah, you retrieved her quickly" The girl was sleeping in his arms. The ANBU nodded and said "She seems to have a particular behavior towards me." The hokage nods and says "I've been trying to figure out what to do with her. It's pretty bad because the civilian council has been breathing down my neck about Naruto." The ANBU then replied "What are you implying sir?"

The hokage gave a slight smile and said "I decided to give her to you. Consider this a mission." The ANBU became slack-jawed and said "I don't know how to raise a little girl." The hokage then said "Don't worry about it too much. She's pretty much self sufficient. She just needs a place to sleep and watchful eye. I picked you because you have a keen eye." The ANBU nods and says "Understood sir." He notices the the girl stirring on his shoulder and took her back to his apartment.

At the apartment, the ANBU set the girl in his bed and cleaned up his gear as to not scare her. He then goes to make some rice-balls. The girl wakes up and notices that she isn't in her box, but on a bed. She uncovers herself and walks around thinking "Was I kidnapped?" She quietly walks around and notices a pain in her arm. She looks and sees a scrape from when she fell.

She walks into the bathroom and closes the door. She thinks to herself "I'm definitely in someone's apartment, but who would want me?" She comes out to find the person who picked her up after she tripped. He says "You're quiet for a kid." She then says "Why am I here?" The ANBU replied "The hokage asked me to keep an eye on you. Do you have a name?" The girl replied "Einjeru." He replies "My name is Kakashi." She nods and says "I'm not in trouble am I?" Kakashi shakes his head and says "The hokage feels kind of bad that you've been on your own. I guess he wants you to be able to grow up under a proper roof." Einjeru nods and says "Okay." Her stomach growls and her eyes wander around the room trying to figure out where it's coming from.

Kakashi under his mask lets loose a small smile thinking "This kid will need help with food." He looks at her and says "That little grumble is coming from your stomach. You need to eat." Einjeru shrugged and said "I wouldn't know. I was in an orphanage until recently. I didn't understand what happened myself, but next thing I knew I was fending for myself." He hands her a rice-ball and says "This should fill you up for now. I need to go out. Will you be fine until I return?" Einjeru nods and goes toward the bookshelf. Kakashi heads out and Einjeru pulls out the nearest scroll she can reach.

Meanwhile, Kakashi is heading to the hokage's office and wonders if he should prep her for the academy or not. He gets into the office and says "You were right Lord Third. She is self-sufficient, but if you don't mind me asking, what had happened at the orphanage?" Lord Third replied "It's Naruto. She was caught speaking with him and everyone in the orphanage didn't take too kindly to it. The other kids looked at her with disdain and it pushed her to leave. Maybe I should've made her go back." Kakashi then says "It's okay Lord Third. I can keep an eye on her. Do you have any idea if she's going to the academy or not?"

Lord Third then said "I never thought to ask her. Maybe you can ask her if she has an interest." Kakashi then said "I was considering it, but I thought maybe I should ask you." Lord Third replied "Consider this part of your mission, if she wants to go to the academy that is." He nods and says "Well she does have an interest in reading and was going for my scrolls when I left. I'll see. I'll report in tomorrow if she does show an interest."

Kakashi comes back to the apartment to find Einjeru reading another scroll. He starts off saying "I see you like to read. Have you considered going to the academy?" Einjeru shrugged and said "I like to learn, but what about the other students? What if they look at me with contempt?" Kakashi then said "There is a particular reason why, but we are forbidden to talk about it. You won't have to worry because these students don't know about it." Einjeru says "I don't believe you." Kakashi sighs and says "Then don't believe me. I've been telling you the truth since I found you, but that's okay."

Einjeru then said "I really want to learn, but I'm not very confident about it." Kakashi turned to her and said "You don't have to be. I am going to say this, going to the academy will allow you to become a shinobi of the village. Do you want to do it?"

Einjeru considered her options and pondered a bit before saying "I want to go to the academy. Will Naruto be there?" Kakashi's eye widened at that and he said "Most likely. I've been watching him for a long time and his dream is to become hokage. To do so he must become a shinobi." Einjeru smiled and said "I want him to know he has a friend." Kakashi then said "If he doesn't know, he will. So what have you been reading while I was gone?"

Einjeru then said "I was reading about the history of the village, and the basics of chakra." Kakashi's eye widened again and he said "Well you have to know that stuff at the academy, so we can start from what you learned from the scrolls and go from there." They discussed how the village was formed and how the village was passed down to each of the hokage. Einjeru thought about the destruction of the leaf and said "I now understand why it's forbidden to talk about that incident. Naruto was the newborn."

Kakashi then said "You must never talk to him about that. He is not to know until he is ready. Even though you came to the conclusion yourself, I can still get in trouble for that." Einjeru nods and says "My lips are sealed." They then drifted to the basics of chakra and Einjeru said "I know that it's the lifeblood of a ninja, but what if you feel the presence of something more powerful than chakra in yourself?" Kakashi then says "You would talk to someone similar to yourself if that was the case." Einjeru then said "I doubt I'd find someone similar to myself." Kakashi replied "What's that supposed to mean?" Einjeru then realized that she said something that she shouldn't have and said "Oh nothing."

Kakashi decided to drop it and said "How would you feel about going out to eat?" Einjeru looks at her clothes and says "No offense sir, but I'm not properly dressed." Kakashi looks at Einjeru and thinks "She had been on the streets for a few weeks. Her clothes are practically ruined." He then says "How about we get some clothes and then something to eat?" Einjeru nods and says "Can I clean myself up first?" Kakashi nods and looks through his old clothes to find something to fit her.

He came across the clothes he stored from his academy days and thought "They may be slightly big on her, but they should do the trick for now." He knocks on the door and says "I found something for you to wear temporarily." A small hand appeared and took the clothes. She came out with the clothes on and the scarf wrapped around her waist to hold up the pants. Her hair was black with some lighter highlights.

Kakashi grabbed her hand and said "Do you have any favorite foods?" Einjeru shook her head and said "I'm not overly picky." Kakashi then said "Have you ever eaten ramen?" She shook her head and said "No. I never really ate much in the orphanage. Mostly it was oatmeal and sandwiches." Kakashi thinks to himself "I may have to get her a variety of foods to try so she can decide for herself." Einjeru then says "Is something wrong?" Kakashi shakes his head and said "Just lost in thought. Lets go get you some clothes."

While walking through the village, Einjeru couldn't help but see the eyes of the village on her. She gulps and Kakashi says "Is something wrong?" Einjeru remains quiet thinking "It's nothing. No one is looking at me." Kakashi then says "Earth to Einjeru?" She was shaken out of her thoughts as she looked up at Kakashi saying "It was nothing. I was just caught up in myself." Kakashi exhales slowly and says "You can tell me. I won't be upset by it." Einjeru said "It's not you." Kakashi then said "I've noticed the villagers staring. Don't worry about it."

At the store, Einjeru was looking through the clothes and saw a purple shirt with a black stripe. She smiled and said "I like this shirt." She looks around for the right pair of bottoms and was about to give up until she found a black skirt with a silver trim. She tried them on and they were a perfect fit with a little growing room. She came out and said "I like these." Kakashi then said "You're the one who has to wear them, but in my personal opinion, aren't little girls into bright colors?" Einjeru glared at him and said "No wonder why you're by yourself." Kakashi shot a look at her and said "That was a little out of line, especially considering that I'm sharing my home with you and spending my money to buy you new clothes."

Lord Third came up behind and chuckled hearing the little argument taking place. Einjeru jumped and Kakashi said "Lord Third!" Lord Third stopped his chuckling and said "I see you two are getting along." Einjeru turned red in embarrassment and said "I apologize Kakashi." Kakashi then said "I was a little out of line when I said about your clothes." Lord Third then said "I don't see a problem in her choice of clothing. If anything, a shinobi should be trying to keep themselves from being discovered."

Kakashi face-palmed at his stupidity and said "Why wasn't I thinking of that?" Einjeru then said "Lord Third, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" Lord Third then said "The civilian council allowed me an allowance for you so you can buy your clothes and basic necessities." Einjeru nodded and said "Thank you?" Lord Third nodded and said "You're welcome. Just make sure you spend wisely." Einjeru nodded and went through the calculations in her head for the outfit.

Kakashi then said "Going through the math?" Einjeru nodded and said "I think I should have enough for 5 outfits and a set of pajamas." Kakashi then said "You managed to budget your money already?" Einjeru nodded and said "I won't be left with much, but at least I'll have clothes." Kakashi nods and says "That's good." When they left, Einjeru had 5 of the same outfit and some pajamas.

They then went for something to eat. They come to a place called Ichiraku and Naruto was walking out saying "Thanks for the food." Einjeru wanted to say something, but the words were caught in her throat. She thought to herself "I'll speak to him eventually." Kakashi then said "Crushing on him already?" Einjeru shot daggers at him and said "No! I don't like him like that." Kakashi then said "I was only playing. Calm down." Einjeru took a couple of deep breaths and said "I'm fine now." They go in and hear a "Welcome! Come in and take a seat."

Einjeru takes a seat and Kakashi says "The usual for me and a beef ramen for her." Einjeru then said "Are you sure?" Kakashi smiled behind the mask and said "I'm treating, and you don't want to overload your tastebuds, so I got you something simple." The ramen was set in front of them and Einjeru grabbed her chopsticks and ate slowly. By the time she finished her first taste, Kakashi had finished his bowl. She nearly choked on her food trying to comprehend how he managed to eat his bowl so fast. He looked at her and said "It's a long story."

She finished her ramen and said "This is good. I want to try something different the next time I'm here." Kakashi then said "It's time to head back." Einjeru nodded and followed him. She said to Kakashi "Say, how are sleeping arrangements going to work?" Kakashi then said "I was going to sleep on the floor and let you have the bed." Einjeru says "No way! I'm not kicking you out of your bed." Kakashi then says "Well since I'm in charge, I'm telling you to take the bed." Einjeru grumbled and said "Fine, but I don't like it." Kakashi smiled and said "I'm not that harsh." They get back to the apartment and get ready for bed.

A few hours later Einjeru came out of bed and attempted to drag Kakashi to the bed. She managed to drag him a couple inches before falling backwards and bumping her head. Kakashi woke up and muttered "Einjeru... What are you doing?" Einjeru didn't respond and Kakashi looks at her to see she's unconscious. He groans and looks at her to see that she had a lump on her head. He sighs and says "Great. Now she has a head injury. I'll give her credit though. She managed to drag me a couple inches."

Einjeru came to and Kakashi put an ice pack to her head saying "You whacked your head pretty hard. I'm glad that you are okay. I was nervous that I was going to have to take you to the hospital." Einjeru held it to her head saying "Well that was a bust." Kakashi then said "Yeah, it was. After that lump goes down, you're going right back to bed. If you're going to go to the academy, you need to study for the entrance exam." Einjeru frowned and said "I don't want to sleep on the bed." Kakashi then said "If I get you your own bed will you stop whining?" Einjeru said "Yes. I don't like doing that to people." They went back to sleep after the lump went down.

The next morning, Einjeru finds a note in the kitchen and reads it. She sighs and goes to the fridge to find the rice-balls that Kakashi made for her." She goes out to the park for a little physical activity. She sees Naruto and a bunch of kids ganging up on him. She goes up to them and says "What's going on?" The kids said rude things about Naruto, and Einjeru felt bewildered, but boldly said "You guys have no idea. If you feel the need to beat on someone, beat on me." Naruto then said "Why are you doing this?"

Einjeru then said "Remember a few weeks ago that a little girl from the orphanage was talking to you?" Naruto then says "Barely." Einjeru then said "I was the girl. I wanted to continue talking to you, but the orphanage dragged me away." The other kids said "You actually talk to this freak?" Einjeru then said "He's not a freak. He's a human being, and will be hokage someday." The kids laughed and said "Yeah right! Because you're a girl, I won't hit you, but I will warn you, you will be target of a lot of teasing."

Einjeru turned her back to them and said to Naruto "I hope you're not mad at me for intervening." Naruto then said "No, it's just no one stood up for me before." Einjeru then said "No one seems to understand you." She looks at the sun and says "Will you be here tomorrow? I have to go before my guardian comes looking for me." Naruto then says "Sure... What's your name?" She replied "My name is Einjeru. I'll see you Naruto."

She gets back to the apartment and Kakashi was in the kitchen. He says to her "Did you have fun at the park?" She replies "Not really. I saw Naruto getting picked on and the kids were about to beat him senseless for no reason." Kakashi then said "What did you do?" Einjeru said "I intervened. I was willing to take the hit for him. The boy said that he wouldn't hit me, but I would be the target of some vicious teasing." Kakashi looked at her and said "Are you sure about taking the blunt of the bullying that Naruto receives on a daily basis?" Einjeru shrugged and just realized that Kakashi knew that she was at the park.

Einjeru then said "You were at the park, weren't you?" Kakashi then said "I'm supposed to be watching Naruto. You just happened to be at the park." Einjeru then said "He's going to be there tomorrow. I said I'd meet him there." Kakashi smiled and said "You made a friend out of the village pariah. That's good. Maybe you can change the hearts of the other villagers." Einjeru smiled and said "Well that's good. What are we going to study?"

Kakashi then said "It's not studying per say. Most kids at the academy will have some knowledge of ninjutsu and taijutsu. I want to impart some knowledge into your head regarding the basic academy jutsu and something a little more advanced if you feel up for it." Einjeru then said "Sure. What do I do?" Kakashi then said "First hold still." He revealed his hidden eye and took a look at her chakra coils. He then says "First we need to tap into your chakra reserves."

Einjeru then said "How do we do that?" Kakashi then says "You need to focus. I'll be keeping an eye on your chakra the whole time." Einjeru then said "I don't like the sound of that." Kakashi thinks to himself "This girl... She can definitely push buttons." He then says "Don't worry about it." Angel sat in a meditative pose and tried to focus. Kakashi kept an eye on the chakra and saw a flare. Einjeru opened her eyes and said "Did I get it?" Kakashi then said "You started to get it. You've only scratched the surface. Tomorrow when you go to the park I want you to get as much exercise as possible."

Einjeru nods and says "What is one of the academy jutsu?" Kakashi then said "This one is so subtle you didn't even notice it taking place. It's called the substitution jutsu. It allows you to to swap places with another object or person." Einjeru then noticed where she was and said "Aw come on. That's totally unfair." Kakashi smirks and says "All is fair in love and war." Einjeru looks at him weird and says "Okay?" Kakashi says "You try." She ends up substituting herself for a chair.

Kakashi then says "That's good. Another jutsu is the transformation jutsu. This technique allows you to take the form of something or someone else. For example... Transform." Einjeru takes a look and sees Lord Third. She then says "Errm, Kakashi?" He nods and says "Try transforming into me." She tried to picture Kakashi and weaved the signs. She then said "Transform!" As soon as the smoke cleared, Einjeru looked and saw the flak jacket that she was used to seeing Kakashi wear. Kakashi reverted back to normal and took a look. He said "We'll work with it."

Kakashi then said "There's one more jutsu before we call it a night. This allows you to duplicate yourself. It's called the clone jutsu. This also requires a certain amount of chakra control." He makes the signs and creates a clone and says "You try." She attempts it and looks to see a blob on the floor. Einjeru then says "Well this is a jutsu that I totally suck at." Kakashi then says "If we can't get it up to par in the next couple years, I'll teach you an alternative."

Einjeru nods and yawns. She goes to bed and falls asleep almost instantly. Kakashi watches her thinking "The little brat has a lot to learn before becoming a shinobi. I'll give her credit though. She managed to look past the incident to the person Naruto is inside. There may be hope for Lord Fourths dream after all." He heads to bed and falls asleep.

The next day, Einjeru heads to the park to see Naruto and a couple of other kids playing with him. One of them was from the Nara clan and the other from the Akimichi clan. She came into the park and said "Hey Naruto." Naruto looks and says "Einjeru! I didn't think you were going to show." She smiled and said "Sorry, I was a little bit tired after last night. I ended up sleeping in this morning."

The other two came up and the one with the black hair said "Who is this? I never met her before." Einjeru replied "Hi, I'm Einjeru." The slightly chubby kid then said "It's nice to meet you. My name is Choji." Einjeru then said "Hi Choji." The black haired kid said "I'm Shikamaru. It's a drag, but we're starting at the academy soon. Are you going to be attending?" Einjeru nods and says "Yes, but I'm kind of nervous." Naruto interjects and says "What do you have to be nervous about? If you can stand up to a bunch of bullies then you can stand up for yourself at the academy." Einjeru smiles and says "Okay." All of a sudden a guy in a green one-piece suit appears out of nowhere.

Kakashi watching from a distance said "Oh no! It's Guy. I need to save my charges from his youth speeches." Kakashi appeared next to the green-clad man and said "There is no way I'm letting you scar these kids for life with your youthful antics. You're coming with me." Einjeru then said "Who is he Kakashi?" Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji look at her and say "How do you know the famous copy ninja of the leaf like that?" She shrugs and says "I live with him."

Kakashi then says "Besides my best friend and rival, he's the one you'd kill yourself for, for hearing his youth speeches. His name is Might Guy." Einjeru then said "Okay." Guy releases himself from Kakashi's grip and says "I'm the Leaf villages noble blue beast." Kakashi also says "He's a taijutsu specialist." Guy then says "Lets have a match Kakashi." All of the kids and Kakashi sweat-dropped. Einjeru then says "Does anyone want to go play. My IQ is dropping." Kakashi then says "You guys go and play. I'll take care of him."

They all ran towards the playground equipment and Einjeru said "Any longer and my mind may have melted." Everyone else nodded in agreement. Einjeru climbed on the monkey bars and said "Anyone feel like doing inverted sit-ups?" Naruto then says "I'm coming up." Shikamaru says "It's a drag, but my dad will be picking up choji and I soon. Einjeru nodded and said "It was nice meeting you two. I hope to see you again soon." They nod. Einjeru proceeds to doing the inverted sit-ups.

Kakashi came back to the park and said "Einjeru, time to go." She frowned and said "Just as I was getting into my beat. I'll see you tomorrow Naruto." Kakashi then says "If you make it through a training session with Guy that is." Einjeru then turned and said "Guardian say what?" Kakashi then said "I may have bet your sanity." Einjeru then said "Why would you force me to have a training session with him of all people?" Kakashi then said "Think of it like this. It was a gamble that I lost, but it is an opportunity for you to hone some taijutsu skills." Einjeru groaned and said "After all those inverted sit-ups." Kakashi then said "How many did you do?" Einjeru said "About 30 at max. I lost count after 10." Kakashi then said "You may not be going to the park tomorrow." Einjeru frowned and said "Curse you Kakashi."

The next morning, Einjeru woke up to banging at the door. She sighed and said "If that's Guy, I'm going to be mad for him interrupting my sleep." She goes to the fridge and grabs a rice-ball and opens the door. Guy says "Good morning!" Einjeru deadpans at him and says with a rice ball halfway in her mouth "Good morning." Guy then says "I'm sure you heard from Kakashi, but I'm training you for the day." Einjeru nods and says "Give me a few moments. I'm not sure if Kakashi wants me letting people into the apartment. I'll be out in a few."

Einjeru goes to finish the rice-ball and gets dressed. She comes out and says "Okay, so what are we going to do first?" Guy then says "We're going to the park. I know you want to see your friends before you start." Einjeru then says "This has to do with youth, doesn't it?" Guy gives the nice-guy pose and days "Exactly! Besides, maybe one of them would like to join you." Einjeru shrugged and said "Kakashi owes me big time."

At the park, Naruto is on the swings and he sees Einjeru. He comes up to her and says "Want to play?" Einjeru replies "I can't today, but would you like to train with me? It would be better if I wasn't by myself." Naruto nods and Einjeru says "I have to warn you now, that green guy is overseeing us." Guy then appears and says "So who's ready for some good Taijutsu training?" Einjeru starts crying on the inside and Naruto deadpans thinking "This guy's a taijutsu specialist?"

They go to a training ground and there are some logs. Guy starts off saying "We're going to start off with basic conditioning." Naruto and Einjeru look at him weird and say "Do you mean stretching?" Guy says "That plus some basic moves." Einjeru reaches for the sky and bends down low thinking "This is how I start off my studying sessions with Kakashi. It helps to loosen the muscles and relax a little. It's also good for when you start exercising. You don't want to pull something by accident." Naruto then says "I may ask you for help in the academy." Einjeru said "If anything I'll be about average. Kakashi is trying to make sure that I have some basic knowledge before starting."

Naruto then says "I think you've stretched enough Einjeru." She replies "I do more when I'm stressed or worried." She finally stops and says "What's next?" Guy replies "I want you to hit the log for as long as you can." Einjeru deadpans and says "Hitting the log?" Guy then says "I'll tell you later." Einjeru looks at Naruto and says "You're explaining to Kakashi why my hands are bandaged Guy."

After a couple hours, Einjerus' arms went limp and she said "I don't think I can continue, Guy." Naruto was still going. Einjeru looked at him in admiration and said "I wish I had your stamina Naruto." Naruto flashed a smile and said "I want to stop, but I know I can keep going." Guy then said "That's enough Naruto. You have demonstrated quite a bit of youthfulness." Kakashi watching from a distance said "I apologize. I'll take you for ramen to make up for this."

Einjeru looked at her hands and saw a whole mass of blood and splinters. Naruto's hands were clean and pristine. She looked at him and said "I kind of envy you Naruto. You can hit the log and walk away without a scratch. Guy then said "Let me take a look at your hands." She held them out and said "I guess I may have hit them a little hard." Guy then said "This is why I wear bandages. To protect my hands." Einjeru nods and Kakashi appears saying "I have this." Einjeru then looks at him pulling bandages out of his pouch.

Einjeru tried pulling the splinters out and was wincing in pain. Kakashi brought her to the side and cleaned up the cuts. He looked at her and said "How do your arms feel?" Einjeru replied "They feel like they fell off." Kakashi smiled and said "You're going to be in a world of pain tomorrow." He put some healing ointment on the cuts so they wouldn't get infected and put the bandages on. Einjeru goes back to Naruto and Guy and says "I'm better." Naruto then says "Are you sure?" Einjeru then said "I'm fine. I'm just grateful that they're not from a poisoned kunai or else there would've been problems." Guy then said "That's quite youthful to say." Naruto then looks at the position of the sun in sky.

He then says "It's getting kind of late." Einjeru takes a look and said "Kakashi should have just taken me home." Guy then says "I'll walk you." Einjeru then says "Naruto?" He says "I can get home just fine." Einjeru says to him "I'd feel better if we walked you home first." Naruto then said "Okay." They walked Naruto home and as soon as Naruto was in his apartment, Guy put Einjeru on his back and made a mad dash for Kakashi's apartment.

At the apartment, Einjeru found a note saying "Be back soon." She sighed and went in saying "Thank you Guy for the training and for bringing me home." Guy smiles and says "I hope we can have another training session soon." Einjeru smiled and said "It was quite interesting considering we only punched logs." Guy then said "The results will be evident in the next couple of days." Einjeru closes the door and relaxes.

A few minutes later Kakashi came in the door and said "Ah, you're back." Einjeru nodded and said "Yup." She looked at her bandages and saw that blood was soaking through. She went to take the bandages off and nearly screamed when she saw her hands. She nearly tripped over herself to find Kakashi. In the main room Kakashi was reading his book and heard the fumbling. He set the book down and saw Einjeru running around like a maniac.

He grabbed her and said "What's going on?" Einjeru showed him her hands and said "What's going on?" Kakashi looked at them to see that they're perfectly healed with no scars." He then said "I have no idea. It's time for bed." He put her to bed and went to Lord Thirds office.

At Lord Thirds office, Kakashi was saying "Einjeru's hands healed to the point where they looked like they weren't injured at all. Do you have any idea why?" Lord Third then said "She was born a month after the nine-tails attack. While that has nothing to do with her condition personally, it has influenced it. For the most part she appears normal, but she is not human. I don't want her to know of this until her other abilities start to show." Kakashi then said "She's looking for answers. I told her the truth about not being sure, but now you're telling me to lie to her about her condition?" Lord Third then said "Growing attached to her?" Kakashi then said "That's not true in the slightest. I just don't like lying about something like this. She has the right to know." Lord Third then said "You're right. She does, but it's best to hold off until she's able to understand."

Kakashi then says "What is she?" Lord Third looks at him and says "Are you sure you want to know?" Kakashi's eye widened and said "Why are you saying that?" Lord Third said "I hinted it to you when I gave her to you." Kakashi looks at him and says "What do you mean?" Lord Third said "I guess you didn't catch on. Einjeru is yours by blood." Kakashi becomes slack-jawed and says "She'll think I abandoned her." Lord Third then says "It was the wishes of her mother that you'd seek her out on your own." Kakashi then says "How could I seek her out when I had no idea that she existed?"

Lord Third said "I thought she told you." Kakashi then said "Nope. I had no clue. Let alone the fact this has been hidden for years. How am I supposed to tell her?" Lord Third then said "You may be her father by blood, but technically she is an orphan." Kakashi then said "I don't think I can look at her the same." Lord Third then said "Then don't. Just don't push her to the side."

Kakashi then thought "Someone precious just came into my life. I'm afraid to lose her." Lord Third then said "No need to worry. Nothing will happen to her on my watch. She's more like her mother with her temper." Kakashi then says "We have yet to see her true temper then. If it means anything, I'll keep watching over her. I don't think I'm ready to take the fatherly responsibility yet." Lord Third nods and says "I have a feeling you will in time."

A month passes and it was time for the academy entrance exams. Einjeru took a couple deep breaths and says "I've been studying and training for just over a month for this day. I can do this." She goes in to see Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji. She smiles and takes her seat. She looks at the questions and thinks "These look simple enough. Math, basic ninjutsu questions, common sense for a ninja, etc. I guess we'll see how well I do."

A hour later the tests were collected, and graded. Einjeru wandered around the academy. She bumped into a pink-haired girl and said "I'm sorry." The girl turned around and was teary-eyed. Einjeru then said "What's wrong?" The girl replied "Nothing." Einjeru didn't want to push the envelope so she kept walking. Her arms started to hurt and she said "I'm going to kill Guy in the future for these harsh workouts."

Later on the results were posted in the main hall. Einjeru found her name and smiled. "I'm going to the academy." She said while Naruto was searching for his name. She frowned and helped him to look. At the end of the list there was a set of vacancies and Naruto's name appeared there. Naruto was beaming with happiness. Einjeru gave a gentle smile and said "I hope we're in the same class." Naruto says "I do too."

Within the month the entrance ceremony took place. All of the students were standing in one of four lines in front of the academy. In Einjeru's line there was a lot of chatter amongst the girls about a boy named Sasuke. Einjeru then said "What's so special about him? He's an Uchiha granted, but is that all you see in him?" Sasuke was shocked to hear that and turned around saying "What's your name?" Einjeru said "When asking people, it is customary to give yours first." Sasuke then said "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. What's yours?" Einjeru replied "My name is Einjeru."

In another line, Naruto was thinking "What's so special about him?" The pink-haired girl said "I'd kill to be in line with Sasuke." Naruto then said "Will someone answer me?" The pink-haired girl said "Shut up will you?" Naruto shrunk and said "Hey! Einjeru is talking to him!" The pink-haired girl then said "How!" Naruto then said "I can't help it that they're in the same line and that she's right behind him. The pink-haired girl then said "I saw her at the entrance exams." Naruto then says "So what's your name? I'm Naruto!" The pinkette then says "My name is Sakura."

After the ceremony, Einjeru went looking for Kakashi and Sakura came up to her. She started off saying "My name is Sakura." Einjeru started off saying "My name is Einjeru. Weren't you the girl I bumped into during the entrance exams?" Sakura nods and says "I was having a bad day then." Einjeru nods and says "It was nice meeting you. I have to get going."

Kakashi was waiting for her by the gate. She comes up and says "Sorry about that. Some of the other students held me up." He replies "Just don't get into the habit of being late all the time. It's a hard habit to break." Einjeru shrugged and said "Okay." He then says "Congratulations on making it into the academy." Einjeru smiled and said "Thanks!" They went to the apartment and relaxed for the rest of the day.

A couple of weeks later, Einjeru and Naruto walked into class and sat down talking. A few minutes later Einjeru said "Cover your ears." Sasuke walked in and the fan-girldom went crazy. Sasuke was ignoring them and went to sit next to Einjeru. She thinks to herself "Are you kidding me." Naruto notices the annoyance and was kind of annoyed himself. He put his head down and said "If you need me I'll be avoiding the fan-girls." Einjeru sighed and then sensed the rage of all of the girls in the room. Einjeru is close to unleashing that bittersweet temper she's been holding.

Sakura comes up in Einjeru's face and Einjeru says "Is there a problem Sakura?" Sakura then says "I want to sit next to Sasuke." Einjeru then said "Well I'm sitting next to Naruto, so I'm not moving. Sasuke chose to sit next to me on his own accord." Sakura then says "I don't care. I want to sit next to him." Einjeru replied "I'm not moving! If I sound like a brat then so be it." A blonde girl came up and said "Well I want to sit next to Sasuke too!" She goes to Naruto and says "Hey kid move!" Naruto was ignoring her and Sakura laughed saying "You should be saying that to Einjeru, Ino." Meanwhile Einjeru was close to snapping.

Sakura then said "There's no way you'll be able to go up against all of us." Einjeru said "I only need two of you to make a point. I believe you and Ino will do just fine Sakura." Sakura then said "What did Ino do?" Einjeru said with a little twinge in her voice "She bothered my friend." Ino and Sakura then said "What are you trying to do? Pick a fight?" Einjeru smirked saying "If you guys throw the punch, I'll be happy to oblige." They ball up their fists and wind back thinking "This little brat." Einjeru sighed. They threw the punches, and Einjeru caught them. She knocked them on the floor and said "You guys aren't worth the time, but I'll play around until our sensei gets here.

They got up and tried again. Einjeru knocked them down again saying "It's not a good idea to go throwing punches. You might end up on the floor again." They got up and tried to hit her again just to land on the floor with bruises on their faces. Einjeru sighed and said "I warned you. Not to mention I'm kind of bored." Iruka came in and saw Sakura and Ino on the floor nursing their faces. He said "Einjeru, I need to see you after class." She nods and goes back to her seat. She smirked and thought "That's what they get."

After the lesson and everyone left, Iruka said to Einjeru "We don't go around hitting others." Einjeru said "I was only defending myself. Ino and Sakura threw the first punches." Iruka then said "Well, did you provoke them?" Einjeru said "No, they just got mad because I wouldn't move. They wanted to sit next to Sasuke." Iruka then said "Who else were you sitting next to?" Einjeru said "Naruto." Iruka sighed and said "I know they threw the first punches, but you left a bruise on both of their faces. I know with how hard you hit it can be worse." Einjeru then said "How do you know how hard I can hit?"

Iruka replies "I've watched you at recess. You and Naruto go to the training logs and practice your punches. Each day we have to have to replace at least one of the logs because of it." Einjeru looked down and said "Sorry Iruka sensei. I'm just annoyed about all of the girls in the class getting mad at me because Sasuke comes next to me and sits. I decided to do something about it by showing them what they're lacking. I know my temper is least to be desired, but I really am trying. Not to mention that people bother Naruto for no reason, and it's not cool that you're ignoring it." Iruka gives a look and says "So someone has noticed."

Einjeru then says "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know why either. I'm not going to press on because anymore would get us a nice visit to Lord Third and Ibiki." Iruka says "You know?" Einjeru nods and says "I came to the conclusion myself. When I was still in the orphanage, I talked with him briefly. He's not as bad as you elders make him out to be. If you'd pay attention to that you wouldn't have so many problems out of him. He's pretty easy-going once you get past the shell you put on him. Don't get me wrong, he's still a notorious prankster."

Iruka smiled and said "Thanks for that. You still have detention, but I won't start it until next week." Einjeru nods and says "Can I go now?" Iruka nods. She walks out of the academy and sees Naruto. She smiles and says "You waited?" He smiles and says "Yeah, so what's the punishment this time?" Einjeru smiled and said "One week of detention, and it won't start until next week." Naruto smiled and said "I'm still trying to serve my detention which stretches into next week. At least I won't be by myself." Einjeru then says "You better report to Iruka sensei so you can get credit for your detention." Naruto nods and Einjeru heads home.

Upon getting in the door, Einjeru hears Kakashi calling her from the kitchen. She walks in and says "Hi Kakashi." He gestures for her to sit and says "I was at Lord Thirds office just a few moments ago because he got a complaint from the Yamanaka clan that their daughter was hit while at the academy. Would you care to explain?" Einjeru then said "It all started after Naruto and I walked into class and sat down. Sasuke walked in and all hell broke loose. Sakura decided to ask me to move just so she can sit next to him, but I wasn't moving away from Naruto, so Sakura tried to instigate. Ino then bothered Naruto and I was on the verge of snapping. Sakura and Ino decided to throw punches so I pushed them backwards once thinking they would stop. They went for a second punch and I pushed them back again warning them. The third punch I punched back. I left a bruise on both of their faces to remind them."

Kakashi then said "I assume you got detention." Einjeru nodded and said "Starting next week." Einjeru smiled and Kakashi then said "I hope that you're not smiling out of pride." Einjeru then said "No, but I found out what had been bugging Iruka sensei. That's why I'm smiling." Kakashi said "You didn't talk about _it_ , did you?" Einjeru shook her head and said "That's part of the reason I'm not starting detention until next week." Kakashi then said "I'm just glad that I don't have to remind you of all that."

Einjeru sat down and rubbed her head. "Why do I feel funny?" She thought. Kakashi then said "Are you okay?" Einjeru shook her head and said "No, my head hurts like when I bumped it that night, but I never bumped my head today." Kakashi walks over to her and looks at her head and mouth. She gets a nervous look in her eye and says "Should I be nervous?" Kakashi shakes his head and says "Not yet. If the pain doesn't go away then we have a problem." Kakashi then thought "I never would've guessed that that part of the bloodline from my family would show." He sighs and says "Go get some rest Einjeru."

Kakashi walks around the village and Guy appears saying "Care to join me for some dumplings?" Kakashi felt he needed to confide in someone. He went with Guy and says "How would you feel if you found that I was a father?" Guy gives him a look and says "Well I'd never pictured you to be the fatherly type, but as your friend I'd support you." Kakashi then says "Well I guess it'd be okay to tell you. Lord Third told me a while ago that Einjeru was my flesh and blood." Guy then says "Einjeru is your actual daughter? I thought you were just watching over her." Kakashi then said "Tell me about it. I guess this was a blessing in disguise. She forces a certain behavior out of me." Guy then says "Why are you nervous about it?" Kakashi then says "I'm nervous that she'll be mad at me. I don't want her to think that I abandoned her for the first few years of her life."

Guy jumped up and said "Well, just make her understand that it wasn't your intention." Kakashi then said "But I'm not ready for the responsibility." Guy then says "No one is, but you'll know when, my rival." Kakashi then says "Talking to you always makes me feel better Guy. Thank you." Guy gives the nice-guy pose and says "No problem." Kakashi walks back to the apartment to see Einjeru holding her head.

Kakashi walks up to her and says "What's wrong?" Einjeru shook her head and said "It'd be better if you didn't know." Kakashi then thought "That's about the area where the ears would pop out." He then said "I already know just by the way you're holding your head. Move your hands." Einjeru moved them and revealed a set of black wolf ears with gray tips. She looked down and Kakashi said "There's no reason to be afraid. I've been hiding something from you." Einjeru looked at him and noticed a pair of ears sticking out of his hair. She said "Then you did hear what I said that night when you first brought me here." Kakashi nods and says "There's more to it than that, but I'm not ready to tell you." Einjeru nods and says "How do you hide them?"

Kakashi then says "Why do you think my hair is the way it is?" Einjeru shrugged and said "I always thought it was that way naturally." Kakashi chuckled and said "That's how I hide them." Einjeru then says "Well I can't hide them like that. We have to think of something because I'm not going to the academy like this." Kakashi then says "How about a bow?" Einjeru says "I may be a girl but that's too girly and the bow can come undone." Kakashi sighs and says "That's true especially when getting into fights."

Einjeru said "What about a genjutsu?" Kakashi was gobsmacked by the idea and said "Why didn't I think of that? The only ones who would know would be you and I. The genjutsu would affect everyone else and make it look like you're still normal." Einjeru smiled and Kakashi then said "It will be subtle enough that no one else in the village would even know that it's a genjutsu." Einjeru smiled more and Kakashi thinks "Well at least she inherited some brains." She then says "This will do until we can find a permanent fix."

They manage to contain the ears for six years. Unfortunately a few secrets come out on graduation day.


	2. Chapter 2

2 years later- Problems Galore

Two years have passed since Kakashi had taken Einjeru into his home and she started at the academy. She still has four more years before she can graduate from the academy. At this point she's eight years old. She skipped out on a history lesson with Naruto and was caught. The lesson was about the founding of the village, and Einjeru never forgot the discussion that she and Kakashi had regarding that topic.

When Naruto was caught, both of them were brought back to the academy tied up. Einjeru then said "When Kakashi returns, he's going to bury me in punishments." Naruto then says "Why do you say that?" Einjeru shakes her head and says "He's been acting more like a parent more than just someone watching me over these past couple of years. To be honest, I feel a certain attachment to him." Naruto gives a weird look and says "Okay."

Iruka got in their faces and said "I hope you two have been practicing your jutsu." Einjeru nods and Naruto gives a stubborn look. Einjeru gulps and Iruka says "Because you two skipped out on the history lesson, you two will do a test on the transformation jutsu." Einjeru grinned at the prospect. Naruto snickered. Einjeru's grin disappeared as she knew what he about to pull.

Einjeru started off and was about to do the jutsu when Iruka said "Before you do the jutsu, who are you going to change into?" Einjeru was baffled by the question and said "Who did you want me to change into?" Iruka then said "Hmmm... I never thought you'd ask me. Try changing into Lord Third." Einjeru focused and transformed. Iruka said "For someone who skips classes a lot, you know your jutsu." Einjeru smiled and Naruto was up.

Iruka figured Naruto would follow suit and didn't bother to ask him. Einjeru covered her eyes and Naruto yelled out "Transform!" Instead of Iruka or Lord Third appearing, a naked woman with smoke covering the important areas appeared. Iruka had a nosebleed. Einjeru punched him in the face saying "I warned you to not do that jutsu in front of me!" Iruka jumped in saying "STOP MAKING IDIOTIC JUTSU!" Einjeru rubbed both sets of her ears.

They both got detention and Einjeru said "This was to be expected." Naruto said "Stupid Iruka sensei." Einjeru sighed and practiced her clone jutsu. A blob appeared every single time. She sighed and thought "It's been two years since I started learning the jutsu and I still can't make a decent clone." Naruto pats her on the back and says "It's okay." Einjeru shakes her head saying "It's not."

After they were released, Naruto and Einjeru parted ways and headed to their respective homes. Upon getting in the door, Kakashi was in the main room waiting for her. Einjeru said "I got detention again." Kakashi shook his head. He got up and said "I know. Lord Third said you skipped out on the history of the leaf." Einjeru sighed and said "It was something I already knew." Kakashi then said "You won't make any friends skipping out on your academy classes."

Einjeru shook her head and said "That possibility was out since that incident two years ago when I left a bruise on Ino and Sakura's faces. I kinda developed a reputation for being rough since then. The only ones who will talk to me are Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji. Occasionally Sasuke will talk to me." Kakashi then says "Well you don't have to make friends to be comrades." Einjeru shrugged and went to flop on her bed.

Kakashi then thought "She had been practicing her clone jutsu again. It's been two years, and I promised her that if it wasn't up to par in a couple years, I would teach her an alternative." He peered into Einjeru's space and saw a blue kid. He came close and said "I've never seen you this down when you fail at a jutsu." Einjeru turned away saying "I've been trying my hardest to master this jutsu and I still can't do it."

Kakashi then called "Shadow clone jutsu" Einjeru turned around to see a second Kakashi. He explained "Unlike the basic clone jutsu, the shadow clone jutsu creates a tangible person. This also splits your chakra into even portions allowing the clones to use jutsu. Do you understand?" Einjeru nods. Kakashi ruffles her hair forgetting about her ears.

As soon as tapped one of the ears, Einjeru started to pant like a dog. Kakashi looked at her and poked her ear triggering the reaction. She grumbles thinking "How would you like it if I poked your ears?" Kakashi then says "Sorry about that." Einjeru just folds her arms. She then attempts the jutsu. Kakashi reveals his sharingan to watch the chakra flow.

Once the smoke clears, she sees a clone of herself, but it wasn't perfect. At least it wasn't a blob. Kakashi smiled and thought "This will get her through if they decided to use the clone jutsu as the graduation exam jutsu in the future." Einjeru undoes the jutsu and Kakashi then says "There's one more thing. With the shadow clone jutsu, when it's undone you get all the memories that the clone has back, so it's like you experienced it yourself."

Meanwhile, Naruto comes back to his apartment and sees the lights and hot-water aren't working. He sighs and thinks "Why me?" He leaves back out and goes to Ichiraku. He comes in with a glum look on his face and says "Just give me my usual." Iruka comes in sensing his student upset. He sits next to Naruto saying "You shouldn't eat ramen all of the time." Naruto looks at him and looks back down saying "You don't understand."

Meanwhile there were some people lingering outside the shop. Iruka sensed it and said "Do you normally have people following you and lingering outside?" Naruto nods and says "I normally come here when my lights and hot water is turned off." Iruka looks at him shocked. He's at a loss for words and thinks "He deals with being alone on a daily basis, but having the electricity and hot water cut is a whole other problem."

It became so silent that you can hear a pin drop. Naruto finishes his bowl and prepares to pay for it when Iruka says "It's on me. Eat as much as you like." Naruto smiles a little bit, but thinks about what's awaiting him at his home. He sighs and says "I have go see the old man tomorrow." Iruka looks at him and says "Why do you have to see Lord Third?" Naruto then says "He's the only one that can get the hot water and electricity turned back on. He may have to fire another landlord as well."

Iruka felt bad for the blonde. He wanted to say something, but he knew that no amount of words would console the boy considering what he is and what he's been through. Naruto then said "It's okay, I'm not mad or sad. I'm used to this." Iruka wanted to smack him, but said "This isn't okay. You can't go around accepting those types of circumstances." He thought to himself "Einjeru was right back then. We put a shell on him and no one can look past it. This boy right in front of me is Naruto Uzumaki. Not just a container for the demon fox that destroyed the village. He is not the demon fox reincarnated. He's not a weapon to be feared. He is a citizen of the village hidden in the leaves."

Back in Kakashi's apartment, Einjeru was feeling sore. She wanted to scream out, but knew she couldn't without drawing unwanted attention. She went to Kakashi saying "Do you have a tail?" Kakashi then said "Does this have to do with the ears?" Einjeru nods and is rubbing her butt." Kakashi realized that she changing even more and thinks to himself "This is going to be harder to hide. I may have to look for that book again."

Einjeru says "No offense, but my butt isn't the only thing that hurts right now. My stomach has been growling for a while." Kakashi then said "I still need to shop. We'll have to go out tonight." Einjeru nods and goes over to Kakashi to have the genjutsu cast on her. They then head over to Ichiraku to see a crowd in front. Kakashi says "This can only mean one thing." Einjeru nods and says "Naruto is in there." They slip past the crowd, and come in to find Iruka lost in thought and Naruto slowly eating his second bowl of ramen.

Einjeru says to Naruto "You're like a vacuum cleaner when it comes to ramen. What's eating you?" Naruto shakes his head and points to the calendar. Teuchi then says "Oh right, tomorrow is the day." Einjeru realized it was October and said "Oh! For all the time I've known you and I forgot your birthday was coming up. I'm sorry." Naruto shrugs it off and continues to eat. Iruka came out of his thoughts and noticed Einjeru and Kakashi sitting there.

Kakashi waved at Iruka and said "It's nice to see you here Iruka." Iruka gives a goofy smile and looks at Einjeru who is trying to console her friend. Naruto keeps trying to shrug her off. She got upset and smacked him across the face saying "I hate when you try to shut me out! I've been there for you through your silly shenanigans and pranks. I've sat through all those detentions or waited for you to come out of detention. I didn't become friends with you two years ago to be ignored by you. Get a grip!"

Naruto rubbed his face and looked at the person who smacked him. He said to her "What do you know? I was on my own from the start." Einjeru was shocked to hear this from Naruto. She then said "If that was the case, then why did you start talking with me all that time ago? Think about that Uzumaki." She walked out holding back her sniffles. She then went to the stone faces and cried.

Naruto then rubbed his face thinking "I just did something stupid. I ignored the one friend who has stuck by me through thick and thin." He then said "I just hurt my best friend." Kakashi who was still talking to Iruka just realized Einjeru had left. Kakashi had left out to look for her. Iruka then tries to console Naruto by saying "Einjeru has stuck with you no matter what. She can relate to you in some ways. She'll forgive you."

Meanwhile at the stone faces, Einjeru was crying out all of the tears she's held back over the years. Kakashi comes up next to her and pats her back. She looks at him and says "That was really cold, what he said. I've been a good friend and have been there for him when he needed someone the most. He's my best friend and he hurt me in the worst possible way. It may be a while before I can start talking to him again." She sniffles and Kakashi says "It hurts now, but Naruto took it pretty hard when you left the shop. He realized his mistakes, but in the end the only one who can accept his apology is you. It will help you in the long run to forgive him."

Einjeru rubbed her eyes and said "Most of the time when we argue, it's petty and we forget about it the next day, but this time it's different. I don't know how long it will take for this to mull over." Kakashi rubbed her back and said "No one does. We need to head home. You still have class tomorrow." Einjeru nods and follows Kakashi.

Back at Ichiraku, Naruto finished his third bowl and decided to go to Lord Third regarding his lights and hot water. Iruka wanted to go with him to make sure he was safe. At the office, Lord Third gave Naruto a box and said "Happy early birthday! What brings you here?" Naruto remained silent and pulled out a piece of paper. Lord Third read it and frowned. He then saw Iruka behind Naruto.

Iruka said "Naruto had went home to find his lights and hot water turned off. I found him Ichiraku and I went on to lecture him about his diet to become horrified about why he was eating it." Lord Third then said "This is the third landlord that has done this. I'm about to blow my top. Do you have any ideas Iruka?" Iruka was baffled about being consorted, but he said "How about making Kakashi the landlord?" Naruto and Lord Third look at Iruka wide-eyed."

Naruto then says "Why would you say that Iruka sensei? You know that Einjeru and I were just in an argument." Lord Third then said "Kakashi would be fair about your housing arrangements. He'd probably force you to eat healthier as well Naruto." Naruto knew that the argument was still fresh in Einjeru's mind and felt that this would be adding fuel to the fire.

Lord Third then said to Iruka "I'll take care of Naruto. You can go Iruka." Iruka nods and takes his leave. Lord Third took a look at Naruto and said "You and Einjeru got into an argument, eh Naruto?" Naruto nods and bites his lip. Lord Third chuckles and says "She'll be back to herself in no time. However you need a fair landlord. Iruka was right in choosing Kakashi. Believe it or not, he's saved you from the civilians wrath multiple times. Let's go see them."

At Kakashi's apartment, Einjeru was fast asleep and Kakashi started to tidy up when he heard a knock at the door. He opens it to find Lord Third and Naruto. Lord Third says "Ah, Kakashi. May we enter?" Kakashi invites them in and warns them that Einjeru was sleeping. Lord Third and Naruto sit down on the couch and Kakashi offers them some tea. Naruto denies but Lord Third asks for some. Kakashi comes with the tea and says "What brings you here with Naruto sir? I assume that this isn't a social visit."

Lord Third sighs and says "It's hard finding a fair landlord for Naruto's apartment building. Every year the landlords would cut his hot water and lights off for no reason. I've given each landlord three strikes before I fired them. This would be the fourth landlord that I've hired." Kakashi nods and continues listening. Lord Third continues explaining and said "I was wondering if you can be his landlord." Kakashi then says "Why me?"

Lord Third chuckles and says "You've been looking out for him since he was born. I figured you'd be the most fair towards him. Also, it would be good for Naruto to be near someone his own age." Kakashi looks at Einjeru, nods and says "I agree. I'll be his landlord." Lord Third smiled and said "There's also a bigger apartment for you and Einjeru to move into."

Naruto and Lord Third left so they could rectify the lights and hot water. Kakashi sighed and said "Maybe this will be good for the both of them." He went to bed after doing most of the packing for the move. The next morning, Einjeru woke up to a whole bunch of boxes. She grabs a rice-ball and her lunch and heads out the door.

At the academy, She sees Naruto and looks down. She thinks "He doesn't want to talk to me." Little did she know, Naruto was thinking the same thing. They didn't bother sitting next to each other in class. Iruka said to the students that the sensei's were holding class outside. Einjeru didn't really mind. Naruto wanted to say something to Einjeru, but thought about it. Einjeru thought hard about what she saw earlier in the apartment. She didn't bother to look at Naruto at all while they were outside.

Iruka noticed the tension between the two and decided to pair them up for a spar. Naruto gulped and Einjeru sighed thinking "I know why he's doing this. The tension has been high all day." They stare at each other and perform the sparring sign. Naruto charges in and goes for a punch. Einjeru avoids it and grabs his wrist. Naruto tries to kick her, but he was blocked. Einjeru pushes him back and comes up behind him and knocks him to the ground. She steps back thinking that maybe that was a little excessive.

Naruto stands up and says "I deserve this for what I did. I apologize for what I said to you. I hope you will forgive me." Einjeru didn't smile or anything. She held an emotionless face and Iruka stepped in saying "You guys need to continue." Naruto says "I concede. I can't spar with my best friend like this." He performed half of the sign of reconciliation and waited for Einjeru to perform the other half. She started to perform the other half and finished it saying "Naruto, I need some time. You really hurt me last night." Naruto nods in understanding. Iruka nods and says "Now we can move on."

After class, Einjeru sees Kakashi at the gate and wonders what he's doing there. Kakashi waves at her and she comes up to him. He smiles and Einjeru remains straight-faced. He rubs her head saying "Bad day?" Einjeru shakes her head and says "I sparred with Naruto today. He conceded. To be honest I didn't want to fight with him. He got his thoughts out there when we were sparring. I wish I felt the same way as he does." Kakashi frowns at her words and says "I need to tell you something important."

They got to the apartment and Kakashi closed the door. Einjeru said "What was so important that you brought me home?" Kakashi told her to sit on the floor and said "There's been something I've been thinking about really hard for the past year and a half. It's regarding you and me. Lord Third said two years ago that I could adopt you if I wished. However there's more than that. You said when we were talking about chakra that you couldn't find someone similar to you. You remember that?" Einjeru nodded and said "What does this have to do with now?" Kakashi then said "Lord Third also told me something that I didn't believe myself. You're my own flesh and blood."

Einjeru sat there staring at him thinking that he's joking. She said "No. It can't be. You're playing with me." Kakashi thought to himself "I knew she wasn't going to take this well." Einjeru started turning red and saying "Why didn't you say something sooner?! Why wait until now to tell me?!"

Kakashi then said "Because I didn't know how to. I didn't expect to bond with you the way I did, but I did. I don't want you to become like I did when I was younger. I was a brat and didn't have many friends. My father committed suicide after a mission that he did went awry and all of the villagers slandered him. Like you I never knew my mother, but it's up to you whether or not you want to be around me. In all honesty I grew up resenting my father and sticking to the shinobi rules. The last thing I want for you is to go doing the same thing."

Einjeru then said "Why should I trust you now? You knew all this time and you could've told me. You knew about my problems before I did. I've been hurt by my best friend and you drop this on me. I never knew about my parents and find I've been living with my father this whole time. I'm so angry that I'm becoming dizzy." Kakashi grabs her and calms her down.

He says "There's more than both of us know. I'm sorry for not coming forward sooner. I know I have a lot to make up for. I'm sorry my pup." Einjeru didn't reply. Kakashi then says "I'm taking some boxes over to the new apartment. Do you want to come?" Einjeru remained quiet, and grabbed a box to follow.

At the new apartment, Einjeru wanted to gag at the smell and said "Where's the box of cleaning supplies?" Kakashi pointed at the box and Einjeru jumped at it. She pulled out the bleach and a sponge. She went straight to work. After she finished the main room, she opened the window to air out the apartment smell of bleach. Kakashi during the time she was cleaning was back and forth bringing boxes.

She proceeded to cleaning out the bedrooms and closets. She then went to clean the bathroom after she threw up. It was so disgusting and smelled so bad. She scrubbed that room until it was clean, pristine and smelling like bleach. She went over to the window feeling accomplished and not so much angry anymore. The smell of bleach was starting to get to her and caused her to become light-headed. Kakashi made sure that every window in the apartment was open.

Naruto was coming back from Ichiraku and noticed the smell of bleach coming from the landlords apartment. He went over to see Kakashi and Einjeru settling in. He knocked on the door and Kakashi turned saying "Come in." Naruto noticed the boxes and how clean the apartment was compared to the last landlord. Einjeru was by the window trying to get some fresh air in her lungs.

Kakashi started to unpack some of the boxes and noticed that the boxes he was unpacking were Einjeru's. He moved those boxes to her room with her bed. The apartment finally aired out and Einjeru was able to breathe again. She smiled with her accomplishment and proceeded to helping with unpacking the boxes.

Afterwards, Kakashi was saying to Naruto to not worry about his utilities and if there was anything he needed regarding his apartment to say something. Einjeru then came up to Naruto saying "Something about cleaning causes me to relax and forget why I'm angry or sad. However, you have a lot to make up for." Naruto smiles and says "I don't care. I have my friend back." Einjeru smiled and said "Happy birthday Naruto."

Naruto went back to his apartment very chipper. Einjeru then said to Kakashi "Dad? I apologize for what I said." Kakashi then said "What did you call me?" Einjeru gulped and said "I called you dad." Kakashi's facial expression softened and he said "Come here my little pup." Einjeru came over to him and said "I feel like I'm growing a tail here."

He takes a look behind her and sees a fluffy black tail with a gray tip sticking out of her skirt and says "I need to find that book. I never really contained that part of myself. However it's time we both learned. By the time you graduate the academy Einjeru, your change will be second nature." Her tail wagged with excitement.

Naruto was cleaning his apartment in case Einjeru came over. He felt happy that he was friends with his landlords daughter. By the time he was finished, his apartment smelled like bleach. All of a sudden a rock flew through his window, breaking it. Naruto frowned upon seeing the note attached. He took the rock and note to the landlord's apartment and knocked on the door.

Einjeru answered saying "Naruto?" He nodded and held the rock and note up. Einjeru held one finger up to tell him to hang on. She goes to fetch Kakashi. He opens the door completely and sees Naruto holding the note with a distasteful look on his face. Kakashi looks at the note and says "I see. Has this happened before?" Naruto nods. Einjeru sighs and thinks "This village is blind."

Kakashi says to Einjeru "Can you help Naruto clean up his broken window? I have to go see Lord Third." She nods and follows Naruto to his apartment. He opens the door and Einjeru sees the broken glass. She frowns and goes straight to work in picking it up. Naruto brings the garbage can over. She puts the glass in it and looks at him. "I despise the other villagers." He says. Einjeru's eyes widened at that statement.

Naruto then puts the garbage back saying "Everyone gives me a glare for a reason that I don't even know of. I never even did anything." Einjeru frowned and said "I wish I could speak for them Naruto, but I can only speak for me." She thinks to herself "I wish I could do something for him." She wipes the tears from her eyes and hugs him. She sniffles and says "I'm here for you." Naruto hugs back saying "I know. I've known for two years."

After cleaning up the glass, Einjeru went to the training grounds and was punching the logs in irritation. She was crying thinking about the time that she spent in the orphanage. "Everyone in this village is ignorant. The few that actually open their arms to Naruto is dad, Iruka sensei and myself. The people of the orphanage looked at me with disdain because I talked to him. I left to look for him and no one bothered to look for me. I find Naruto painting the hokage faces and he starts getting chased. I ran with him to talk with him just to be indirectly chased. Funny though, I probably wouldn't have a home if it wasn't for me running into my dad that time." She stopped and Guy appeared behind her.

He smiled and said "How did you get in here?" Einjeru said "I snuck in. I was venting my frustrations out." Guy smiled and said "A lot has happened today. You want to talk about it while sparring?" Einjeru shrugged and they proceeded to spar. Later on Guy says "I see. So how does it feel to be the daughter of my eternal rival?" She cracks a smile saying "You may be in the lead for now, but my dad will bounce back." Guy laughs and knocks Einjeru off of her stance.

A few well placed punches later, Einjeru fell on her back. She smiled and said "Good spar." Guy handed her a box and says "These will improve your speed in the future. Put these on in a couple of days after improving your speed some." Einjeru nods and proceeds to head on home. At the apartment, Einjeru puts the box away, and starts making some vegetable stew for dinner.

Kakashi walks in with some money for replacing Naruto's broken window. He sighs and peers in the kitchen. There's a pot on the stove with some steam coming from it. He comes in to the kitchen to see Einjeru rinsing off some vegetables. She cuts them up and throws them into the boiling water. She smells the herbs that she put in there with the vegetables and relaxes. He grabs her by the collar and says "Where did you learn to cook?" She smiles and points at a book on the table. He looks and reads the title. " _A Guide to cooking home meals for youngsters_?" Einjeru nods and says "Not to mention the meals will last me while you're out of the village." He smiles and says "I give. Besides I'm tired of making food for you." Einjeru shakes her head.

Kakashi then says "Well, this will serve you well on missions. However are you still mad?" Einjeru shakes her head and smiles. Kakashi leaves to find someone to replace Naruto's window; heaven knows he useless when it comes to handy-work. Einjeru finished the stew and decided to bring some to Naruto. She puts some in a bowl and brings it to his apartment.

Naruto is putting a sheet over his window. He hears a knock on the door and he answers it. Einjeru said "I figured you might need something homemade." She smiles and Naruto takes the bowl and says "Do you want to come in?" Einjeru nods and enters. She sees a poster of ramen on his wall and couldn't help but to giggle. Naruto smiles and eats some of the stew. As soon as he tastes it his eyes widened in delight.

Einjeru sits with Naruto as he goes on about his aspirations. He then asks her about her goals. Einjeru never considered her future dreams until this point. She puts her finger to her face thinking about it, but nothing came to mind. She said "Can I tell you later Naruto? I don't particularly have an aspiration right now." Naruto then says "That's okay. Promise me you'll tell when you figure it out." Einjeru smiles and nods. He finishes saying "I'm coming over for dinner some time." Einjeru didn't know how to respond and nods heading out the door.

The next day at the academy, Iruka was giving instructions for the day's ninjutsu lesson. Everyone was to practice the clone jutsu. Einjeru couldn't use the shadow clone jutsu because it wasn't perfected and couldn't use the regular clone jutsu because it was horrible. Naruto then said "You can do it." Einjeru then decided to go with and perform the shadow clone jutsu. The clone came out perfectly considering that she had learned the jutsu a couple days ago.

Everyone stared at the clone saying "That's not possible. No one in our class should have that much chakra." Naruto stare in amazement saying "That is so cool! I want to learn that jutsu!" Einjeru kind of shrunk, nervous about what everyone was thinking. Iruka came up and said "How did you learn that jutsu?" Einjeru gulped and said "My father taught it to me."

After class, Iruka held Einjeru and asked her to close the door. He then said "That's an A-Ranked jutsu that requires a lot of chakra and precise chakra control. How did you do that?" Einjeru shrunk saying "I just started learning how to do the jutsu two days ago. I think today was just a fluke." Iruka looks at her and says "You said your father earlier. Did you mean Kakashi?" Einjeru nods and allows Iruka to connect the dots.

Iruka then says "But how? He's not that much older than you." Einjeru shrugs thinking "Beats me. All I do know is that blood and the hokage never lie." Iruka shakes his head saying "Never mind. You can head home." Einjeru bolts out of the academy to Naruto who was waiting. She says to him "I think I broke Iruka sensei." Naruto looks at her laughing and says "What? Broke Iruka sensei?"

Einjeru nods and says "Kakashi told me that I'm his daughter and I told sensei that, and it threw him for a loop. Now technically by the law, I'm an orphan, but Lord Third is giving Kakashi the option to adopt me and make it official. Soon, I won't be just Einjeru, but Einjeru Hatake." Naruto grins and says "I wouldn't go around saying that to some people. People like Kakashi have enemies and they can use you to their advantage."

Einjeru faced him and said "Well I guess I'll have to get stronger so that can't happen. Now won't I?" Naruto says "That sounds like something that I'd say." Einjeru laughs and says "I think you've become a bad influence." They both laugh as they're heading to their respective apartments. As soon as Einjeru gets to the apartment, she sees a note saying report to Lord Hokage's office as soon as you read this. "Aw man, and I just got home too. Oh well."

At the hokage's office, Kakashi is thinking "Einjeru should have gotten home by now. She should have read the note and should be on her way by now." By the time he finished his thought, Lord Third was telling him to calm down. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Lord Third said "Come in." Einjeru entered the office and gave a slight bow out of respect.

Kakashi walked over to her side and Lord Third said "Can you guess why I summoned you Einjeru?" Einjeru shrugged and remained quiet. Lord Third smiled and said "I assume Kakashi told you already?" Einjeru nods. Lord Third continued saying "Even though you are bound by blood, you in the eye of the civilian council are still an orphan. I've been pushing for Kakashi to adopt you for the past couple years. I never thought it would take this long for him to take me up on this."

Einjeru said "At first I didn't believe him and was angry." Lord Third said "He was afraid of that, and wasn't too sure of his responsibility. You two force certain behaviors out of each other. Also I'm aware of the genjutsu that's in place to hide your ears and tail." Einjeru looked down hoping no one would notice. Kakashi said "I'm still hunting for that book. I think I may have left it at the clan compound."

Lord Third said "It's okay. The reason I called you two here was to make the adoption official. From this day forward, Einjeru shall be known as Einjeru Hatake." Einjeru smiled and said "Well I'm no longer an orphan in the eyes of the village. Not to mention my bloodline." Kakashi then says "Is there anymore of the vegetable stew left?" Einjeru looked at him funny and said "Yeah, why?" Kakashi smiled and said "Save it. We're celebrating tonight." Einjeru then says "Can we invite Naruto?" Kakashi nods and Einjeru smiles real big.

They go back to the apartment and find Naruto screaming his head off. Einjeru goes up to him and says "What's going on?" Naruto says "Test tomorrow!" Einjeru sighed and punched him on the head thinking "I've been telling you this all day." She calms down and says "Worry later. You're celebrating with me and my father tonight." Naruto gets a puzzled look on his face and said "What for?" Einjeru smiled and Naruto got the hint and said "So your last name is..." Einjeru smiled and said "Hatake. Now come on my dad is waiting."

After dinner, Einjeru and Kakashi went to the old Hatake clan compound to look for the book that Kakashi had been hunting for. Kakashi shuddered when he got near the room where he discovered his father bleeding out. Einjeru noticed this and said "Is something wrong dad?" He nodded and said "This room is where I discovered your grandfather. The memory haunts me to this day." Einjeru then said "I guess the book is in there. We checked everywhere else." Kakashi looks at her and says "You're too smart for your own good. Let's get this over with."

They entered the room and went straight to the bookshelf. Kakashi said "The book is going to have a real raggedy cover." Einjeru responded with a nod and went to look on the lower shelf. Kakashi pulled another one of the books and the bookshelf moved out of place. In it's place was a doorway and a stairwell. The two of them walked into the stairwell and the bookshelf put itself back in place.

Einjeru was blind because her vision hadn't adjusted to the lack of light. She was looking for something to grab on to and Kakashi giggled a little bit saying "Einjeru? You're grabbing an odd area." Einjeru said "Can't you do something? I can't see." Kakashi chuckled and said "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu." He hit each of the torches and Einjeru realized what she was grabbing and turned red.

Kakashi smiled at his now embarrassed daughter saying "I won't say anything if you won't." Einjeru nods making a silent agreement. They walk down the stairs. They arrive in a room with a book on a pedestal. Einjeru looks at the book and reads out "Hatake clan history and powers." Kakashi then says "Well what do you know? It seems that there was a fake book and the real one was hidden. Nice dad." Einjeru smiles and says "What do you think grandpa would say to us if he saw us down here?" Kakashi shrugged and said "This was to be handed down through the generations so the techniques can be passed on. I never did learn how to harness my strength. I guess we'll be learning together, eh Einjeru?" She nods and says "Can we get out of here? This place is giving me the creeps."

They get back to the apartment and start reading about the history of the clan. Who knew that in four years that there would be two masters of the wolf style in the leaf village?


	3. Chapter 3

4 years Later/ Graduation

Einjeru woke up earlier than usual. She got dressed and pulled out some accessories that Kakashi had brought for her to use on special occasions. Her necklace and earrings sent an alert to Kakashi if she was in danger. She made some breakfast and went for some last minute training before her exam.

As she got out the door, she saw Naruto. Naruto called over and said "Ready for the exam Einjeru?!" Einjeru walked over and said "Yeah, but I want to practice my jutsu before heading to the academy. Want to come with?" He grinned and followed.

At the training grounds, Naruto says "I almost have the shadow clones down." Einjeru shakes her head and makes 2 clones. One does the substitution jutsu and the other does the transformation. Naruto looks in jealousy and Einjeru says "You could be training you know." Naruto just glares and grumbles knowing that she was right. Einjeru looks at the sun and says "We have to go! We'll be late!" She grabs his arm and takes off running.

They get to the academy and Sakura comes up saying "Good luck on the exams. You're going to need it." Einjeru says "Thank you. I'd say the same, but I don't need to." Einjeru thinks to herself "I skipped classes and still aced the tests. The final graduation test will be a cinch."

They walk to the classroom and sat together. Little did any of the students know, a few of the jonin sensei were watching them. Kurenai and Asuma were hiding in the walls keeping an eye on the soon to be genin. Kakashi comes up behind them and say "Looking at the genin that will become yours?" They looked at him and thought "I didn't think Kakashi would be looking at them yet." Kakashi smiled and said "I do have a kid amongst them." They get a stunned look about their faces and said "How?" Kakashi smiled and said "Look at the list. You'll see."

Back in the room, Iruka and Mizuki came in. Iruka explained the premise behind the exam and what jutsu was being tested. As soon as they heard it, Naruto and Einjeru gave each other a high-five and knew they had the exam in the bag.

Meanwhile back in the hidden room; Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma were watching that and Kurenai said "That's Naruto, but he has the lowest grades in the whole academy. Who's the girl next to him?" Kakashi is smiling behind his mask saying "That's Einjeru." Their mouths dropped as they heard that.

The students were being called into the next room one by one. Meanwhile, Einjeru is eating a snack to replenish her chakra. Naruto realized that he didn't eat earlier and asked if she had any extra. She handed him a snack bar and was called into the next room.

Iruka and Mizuki were awaiting Einjeru's entrance into the room and Iruka said "She skipped a lot of the classes, but knew exactly how to answer the questions on her tests and exams." Mizuki then said "That's how brainiacs work. I'm curious to see how she works with her jutsu." Einjeru walked into the room smiling. Iruka said "When you're ready Einjeru."

Einjeru takes a slow breath and builds up her chakra. She weaves the signs for the shadow clone jutsu and called it out. One Einjeru became five. She smiled and Iruka said "Congratulations. Here's your headband." She took it and put it in her pocket. She went back to the room and said to Naruto "I won't put mine on until you get yours." He smiled and waited until his name was called.

A little while later, Naruto was called into the next room. Iruka gave a gentle smile to Naruto as he walked in, but Mizuki grimaced. It went unnoticed by Naruto. He gulped and built up his chakra. He made the sign and made 3 clones. Iruka looked in amazement and thought "The surge of chakra allows him to be able to use this jutsu without problems. The question is: When did he learn it?" Naruto looked at them expectantly and Iruka said "Come here Naruto and close your eyes."

Naruto walked over and closed his eyes. Iruka got up from his chair and took Naruto's goggles off and put his headband on him. He told Naruto to open his eyes. Upon opening them, Naruto noticed Iruka's headband missing and his goggles in his hands. He immediately smiled and said "I passed?" Iruka smiled and said "Congratulations! You graduate." Naruto jumped up and down and went back to the room.

Upon seeing him, Einjeru smiled and pulled hers out and put it on. Naruto said "Guess whose headband this was?" Einjeru shrugged and smiled. Naruto blurted out "It was Iruka sensei's. He put it on me himself." Einjeru said "Lucky." They did a fist-bump and waited until the rest of the examinations were done.

After the examinations were done, Einjeru and Naruto were heading out and saw Kakashi. Einjeru ran up to him smiling and said "We did it dad!" Kakashi smiled and said "I know. I was watching. I'm also one of the jonin sensei. You'll find out who you're grouped up with tomorrow." Naruto says "I got Iruka sensei's headband. I feel really awesome."

Mizuki meanwhile was planning to frame Naruto by taking the scroll of sealing. Iruka came up behind him saying "I'm glad Naruto was able to graduate this time." Mizuki nodded and thought "I'll make sure he doesn't become a ninja by any means." He walked out of the academy to see Naruto and Einjeru standing together. He grumbled and thought "She'll be able to say that it wasn't Naruto. I have to do something."

Later on at their apartment building, Einjeru was getting something from her room and Naruto was in his apartment waiting. However Mizuki made his way into the apartment and knocked her out from behind. He tied her up and left her in her room. He laughs maniacally and leaves out. Naruto was waiting longer and thought "It never takes her this long to grab something. I'll go over."

He gets there to see the door open and peers in. The lights were all off and Naruto continued to walk in and found Einjeru tied up in her room and her mouth covered. He ran over to her and got her mouth uncovered and untied her. Einjeru woke up and tackled him. He yelped and Einjeru realized who she tackled. She stood up and apologized.

Naruto smiled and said "What happened?" Einjeru shook her head and said "I haven't the slightest clue. I was going to get what I needed and got knocked out from behind." Naruto then said "Did you see who it was?" Einjeru shook her head. They started walking around the village and all of a sudden, Iruka appears out of nowhere saying "I found you Naruto." Einjeru and Naruto look at him curiously.

Iruka grabbed both of them and said "Naruto took the scroll of sealing." Einjeru then said "How? Naruto has been with me." Iruka then said "Naruto was spotted walking out of the hokage's mansion with it." Naruto looked at Einjeru and said "There were cameras all over the apartment building and in my apartment. I was in my apartment waiting for Einjeru. After a while I went to go see why she was taking so long. I found her tied up and gagged in her bedroom."

Einjeru had just realized that and said "The cameras can tell us who knocked me out." Iruka walked back with them to the apartments. They look at the camera footage and see Mizuki walking out of the apartment. Iruka then said "Then what about Naruto?" Einjeru then went to the set of cameras in Naruto's apartment. Einjeru pointed out Naruto waiting on her and the timestamp of the footage. Iruka then said "It must have been Mizuki under the guise of Naruto."

They went to Lord Thirds office and explained everything. Lord Third said "I know. I've been keeping my eyes on the genin since they left the academy for the day. I also know how inseparable these two are. I'm allowing you guys to capture Mizuki." Einjeru smiled and said "I have a score to settle with that traitorous backstabbing sensei anyway. No one knocks me out in my home or frames my friend and gets away with it." Naruto says "Leave some for me. There's no way I'm letting that slide. I already have a besmirched reputation in this village. I must save what's left of it." Iruka then says "I guess I'm leading you two." They look at him and says "Yes sensei!"

In the forest, Mizuki is laughing thinking that the village had captured Naruto. He pulls out the scroll and says "How did those two learn that jutsu? It's the first jutsu in the scroll of sealing." Iruka appears and says "How could you frame a comrade of the leaf village?" Einjeru appears next to Iruka and says "And knock them out?" Mizuki was surprised and said "How did you know it was me?" Einjeru said "For a shinobi you did a crummy job of avoiding the cameras in mine and Naruto's apartment building."

Mizuki laughs and Naruto appears saying "Framing me was your number one mistake." Mizuki looks at them and says "You'd believe them even though they've been lying to you Naruto?" Einjeru realized that he was to reveal the secret that was punishable by a trip to Ibiki. Mizuki said "12 years ago after the nine-tails attack was stopped, a law was made. That law is known by everyone except you Naruto."

Naruto becomes bewildered and says "What is this law?" Einjeru balled up her fist and went straight for Mizuki. He grabbed and pinned her saying "The law forbids us from saying that you're the container for the nine-tailed fox." Einjeru frowned and Naruto said "Is this true?" Iruka was silent and Einjeru was about to say something when Mizuki said "Of course it's true! Why else would everyone be breaking your windows and glaring at you? No one really cares about you!" Einjeru snapped at that and yelled out "That's not true!"

She knocked Mizuki off his feet and stood up with her tail and ears out. Mizuki looks at her and says "You're an unusual kid. No wonder why you woke up so fast." Einjeru glared at him and said "You made a big mistake saying that in front of me." She faced Naruto and said "Most of what Mizuki said is true. The part about no one caring is not. I've been your friend for six years and I've known about the nine-tails." Naruto just stood there and stared at her trying to understand what he was looking at.

Einjeru then realized why Naruto was staring. She smiled and said "It's my bloodline trait. I'll explain later." She turned towards Mizuki and said "You are in big trouble Mizuki. It's three against one and two of us have a reason for beating you to a pulp." Naruto cracked his knuckles saying "It's only going to take two of us to take him down! What do you say Einjeru?"

Einjeru smiles saying "After you Naruto. He was the one who framed you." Naruto smiled and said "Let's get him at the same time." Both of them simultaneously called out "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu." The clearing was filled with an immense amount of Naruto's and Einjeru's. Mizuki said "You two are just rookie genin. I'm a chunin. I'll knock you out in one punch." Einjeru shakes her head and Naruto says "We'll just deliver it back two thousand fold." Mizuki said "Bring it!" All of the Naruto and Einjeru clones jumped into action while the main ones are standing with Iruka.

Afterwards, the clones dispersed and Einjeru said "That was fun and technically we didn't lift a finger." Naruto smiled at the prospect of the genin teams. Iruka then said "You guys have to get home, but first, let's celebrate with some ramen." Naruto yells out "All right! That's one thing I wouldn't send a clone for." Einjeru shakes her head and says "Only you Naruto." Iruka laughs and wraps his arms around both of them.

At Ichiraku, Naruto tells an over-inflated story and Kakashi comes in saying "I was wondering where you were." Einjeru says "Should I tell him sensei?" Iruka says to Kakashi "You may want to sit down. You're in for a story." Einjeru smiles and runs through the events as they actually happened. Afterwards, Kakashi smiled and said "That's good." Naruto walks home with Kakashi and Einjeru.

At the apartment, Kakashi asked Einjeru about how it felt to control the change. Einjeru smiled and said "It feels good." She got ready for bed. Kakashi went over to Naruto's place to see how he was settling. Knocking on the door he was thinking to himself "It would be nice if the two of them are placed on the same team." Naruto answered and said "What brings you here?"

Kakashi asked if he could come in and Naruto stood to the side. Naruto started off saying "I apologize." Kakashi gives a questioning look and says "Actually I'm glad to see that all the cameras that were placed are working. They helped you get out of a sticky situation Naruto. It also helped to find out who knocked out my daughter." Naruto smiled and said "I'm glad that I have a landlord that cares. What would you have to be sorry for?" Naruto shook his head saying "I thought I did something wrong." Kakashi smiled and said "I only came to check on you. I won't be around so much because I'll be in charge of a trio of genins. I don't know who I'll be getting yet, but if I could choose them, two of them would be you and Einjeru."

Naruto smiled and said "That would be awesome if I could be on the same squad as Einjeru, especially after tonight." Kakashi smiled and said "Yeah. Well I have to meet Lord Third early tomorrow. See you Naruto." Naruto smiles and gets ready for bed. Kakashi heads back to his apartment. He gets there and sees Lord Third standing out there.

Upon letting Lord Third in, Kakashi offered him some tea. Lord Third said "How is being Naruto's landlord?" Kakashi smiled and said "The same. This apartment is spacious and completely different than when Einjeru and I first moved in. It's home." Lord Third nods and said "It's less barren and more clean than the last time I was here. Naruto is also more content because he has a friend nearby and can actually say when something is happening to his home." Kakashi smiled and said "I'm happy that I can contribute to my sensei's legacy."

Lord Third's facial expression softened and he felt better about what he was about to tell Kakashi. He starts off saying "I know that you aren't supposed to know until tomorrow, but I decided on the teams." Kakashi nodded and said "Who will I be getting sir?" Lord Third started off saying "With the excess amount of graduates, one of the squads had to have an extra genin. I decided that squad would be yours. You'll be in charge of squad 7 which consists of Naruto Uzumaki, Einjeru Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno."

For someone who is known for keeping a straight face in a serious situation, Kakashi wasn't able to contain how happy he was. He started off saying "Isn't it a little weird that you're putting my daughter with me?" Lord Third chuckled and said "She's works the best with Naruto." Kakashi nods and continues listening.

Lord Third then said "Sasuke will need someone to guide him in the use of his sharingan when he awakens it. Sakura is an average kunoichi. It's supposed to be similar to your old squad. Naruto the hopeless, prank-loving idiot, Sasuke the prodigy and Sakura the average female member. Einjeru was hard to place, but I figured that she and Naruto are on par with their teamwork, so why not?" Kakashi was silent.

Lord Third said "Am I to assume you're in shock?" Kakashi shook his head and said "Just happy." Lord Third smiled and said "I hope you're not going soft Kakashi." Hearing that Kakashi placed his emotions aside and said "Not in the slightest. I intend to go at them hard." He looks at Einjeru's room door thinking "She knows most of my tricks, but not all of them."

After the brief discussion, Lord Third left the apartment and Kakashi went to bed. He found it hard to fall asleep with the joy he was feeling.

The next morning, Kakashi went to Lord Third for the official appointment of his genin. Einjeru woke up to see an omelet on a plate waiting for her. She smiled and ate. Naruto woke up and grabbed a slice of toast and some milk.

Later on they met up with each other and went to the academy. At the academy, Sakura came up to them saying "It's a miracle that you two passed with all the classes you skipped." Einjeru scoffed and said "The fact that you have to get in people's faces and belittle them is a surefire sign that you're not going to make it long as a shinobi. Think about that especially if we become teammates." Einjeru never considered who she may have as a teammate, but knew that she had to keep her personal bickers out of it. Naruto was just hoping he would end up on the same squad as Einjeru. He didn't care about the other teammate.

Iruka walked in and saw the genin and started off saying "Congratulations from graduating from the academy. You guys will be starting off on your ninja paths from today with your jonin sensei." Naruto and Einjeru heard this speech already but just looked to make it look like they were paying attention. As soon as Iruka started announcing squads they perked right up.

Iruka said "Squad 7 has four members due to the irregular number of graduates. The members for this squad are Naruto Uzumaki, Einjeru Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Your sensei is Kakashi Hatake." The four of them were smiling for different reasons. Naruto because he was in the same squad as Einjeru. Einjeru for the same as Naruto, and the fact that her father was leading so she knew what to expect. Sakura because she was in the same squad as Sasuke. Sasuke because of Einjeru.

Everyone broke for lunch except squad 7. Einjeru pulled out her lunch and started to eat. Sasuke and Sakura came up to her and looked her in the eye. Naruto laughed saying "Wow! It must stink to be Kakashi's kid now, huh?" Einjeru gave a surefire death glare at Naruto that said "Say anymore and you won't make it past the first squad meeting." Naruto shrunk and Sasuke asks what Kakashi is like.

Einjeru says "My father... He can put you six feet under if you don't watch yourself. The best way to get him is to work together." Sakura thinks to herself "I will work with Sasuke anytime." Einjeru just started learning how to read people's thoughts and it was an annoying trait to have when around a fan-girl. She said to Sakura "I hate to tell you this, but you have to work with all of us." Einjeru thought "If we make it through dad's survival test, I'll be breaking Sakura personally. I will ask dad for the privilege." Sakura huffs, and Naruto and Sasuke face-palm at the behavior demonstrated by the pinkette.

Everyone returned from lunch and started to meet up with their jonin sensei. Squad 7 was the only group left and even Iruka went home. Naruto puts a eraser in the door and says "This is what my landlord gets for being late." Einjeru giggles and says "I have a better idea Naruto." She whispers in his ear and they go to Sakura and Sasuke respectively. Sasuke smiles thinking "If Einjeru is planning it, it has to be fool-proof." Sakura says "Why not? It beats sitting here bored."

They go put the traps in place. After they finished, they sat at the desk like they were the most innocent kids in the world. Kakashi gets outside the room and notices the eraser in the door. "Naruto no doubt. I wonder if there's something else awaiting me." He thinks getting closer to the door. He opens the door and the eraser drops on his head. Naruto says "I told you!" Einjeru punched him saying "Wait for it." He thinks upon seeing them "They rigged the room." He intentionally sets the traps off to see which ones they placed respectively.

First he slips on oil. Sakura snickers. Next the chalk that was rigged with paper bombs went off. Sasuke smirks. Kakashi reached for the desk to be shocked. Einjeru blurted out laughing. Eventually Kakashi made it to the window where a clone of Naruto and Einjeru knocked him from behind, A paper bomb went off and he was tied up in the midst of the smoke. The whole squad laughed their collective asses off. Kakashi smiled thinking "Naruto rubbed off on Einjeru. Those two managed to reel in Sakura and Sasuke. I'm impressed that they rigged the room the way they did."

After he got untied and cleaned up from the chalk dust, Kakashi said "My first impression of you guys? You're a joke." Einjeru smiled knowing what that meant. Naruto and Sasuke were offended by that comment, and Sakura was unsure of what she was feeling. Kakashi then said "We're meeting on the roof in five minutes." Einjeru thinks "I shouldn't reveal that until after the test." She proceeds to grabbing Naruto's hand and dragging him to the roof. Sakura and Sasuke follow behind slowly.

On the roof, Kakashi starts off saying "Alright you guys, introduce yourselves." Sakura says "What are we supposed to say?" Kakashi says "Your likes, dislikes, your future goals, your hobbies, and obviously your name." Sakura was insulted by that and said "Why don't you start off?"

Kakashi says "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't like much of anything, I have many dislikes, my hobbies are inappropriate to be discussing and I never thought about my future dream." Naruto and Sakura both mutter "In the end, all we know is his name." Sasuke remained silent. Einjeru giggles and thinks "I know the most about him. The inappropriate hobby is his perverted books." Her face flashed red really quick.

Kakashi decides to put Einjeru on the spot by saying "If you have time to be going red in the face, you could be introducing yourself." Einjeru thought to herself "I'm going to get him later." She then said "My name is Einjeru Hatake. I like the colors black, silver and purple. I also like hanging out with my best friend. I strongly dislike blatant ignorance. My hobby is reading. My future dream is like sensei: I never thought about it." Naruto knew why and didn't bother to push it. Sakura thinks to herself "What does Sasuke see in her?" Sasuke remained silent and lets out a small smile. Kakashi went to Sakura saying "Alright. The girl with the pink hair, you're next."

Sakura starts off saying "My name is Sakura Haruno. What I like- I mean who I like... *Staring at Sasuke* My future dream is... *Staring at Sasuke and Squealing*" Kakashi then says "Your dislikes?" Sakura spits out "Naruto and Einjeru." Both of them glare at her and Einjeru says "That attitude will get us all killed on a mission." Sakura then says "I don't care. I don't like you." Einjeru replied "I couldn't stand you since the first day of class. I can't believe I was nice to you at the academy entrance exams."

Kakashi was stunned to hear that come out of Einjeru's mouth and said "That was a little over the line." She huffed and said "I've been holding those feelings for six years. If she was going to blatantly say what she said then I have a right to tell her how I feel." Kakashi then yelled "That's enough! We'll discuss this later. You in the orange. You're up."

Naruto then said "I'm Naruto Uzumaki ya know! I like hanging out with my friends and eating ramen. I really like the ramen that Iruka sensei treats me to at Ichiraku. I don't like having to wait 3 minutes after pouring water in the ramen or people ruining my home for something I have no control over. My hobby is comparing ramen. My future dream is to become hokage and be better than all the hokage that preceded me." Kakashi nods and says "Alright you're the last one."

Sasuke starts off saying "My name... is Sasuke Uchiha. I dislike a lot of things and don't particularly like anything. My dream isn't a dream, but an ambition. I _will_ restore my clan and kill a certain man." Naruto thinks to himself "Shocker about the likes and dislikes, but when he means certain man I hope he doesn't mean me." Einjeru thinks "His personality is like a double-sided coin. One minute he's helping us pull a prank, next minute he's talking about killing someone. Who or what is Sasuke?" Kakashi sees this in Einjeru's eye and says "You each have unique personalities. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

Einjeru decided to nip Naruto's question in the bud before he even says it by saying "By mission, do you mean survival exercise?" Naruto looks at her who in turn is staring at Kakashi intently. Sakura then says "We've had more than our share of exercises in the academy." Einjeru fronts that for Kakashi saying "This is no mere survival exercise. It's us versus him. Life or death situation. Basically if we fail kiss your life goodbye." Sakura was chilled by how calm Einjeru was being. Sasuke was intrigued by it.

Kakashi said "She hit every nail on the mark. I'll explain more tomorrow. For now you're dismissed." Everyone except Einjeru was getting ready to head out when Kakashi said "Oh and one more thing. You might want to skip breakfast. You'll throw up." Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke left leaving Einjeru to talk to Kakashi alone.

Kakashi stared at her and said "I hope you have a good explanation for showing your behind like you did." Einjeru sighed and said "I was only being honest. Sakura is demonstrating behavior that is detrimental. I'm willing to put that aside while we're on our missions, but she doesn't have the temperament to. What I did was actually better in the long run because I couldn't hold it in anymore. That could've led to a serious problem if I just blew up emotionally." Kakashi sighed and waved it off saying "Head home. I need to clear my head some." Einjeru headed to the apartment (or did she?) and Kakashi went to wander the village.

As Kakashi was walking about, Guy came along and noticed the stress on his rival's face. He starts off saying "Hey Kakashi. What's up?" Kakashi let out a sigh and said "Einjeru demonstrated some behavior that I wasn't sure she was capable of showing. She normally is the nervous type, but she was bold about voicing her opinion of Sakura." Guy says "She hides a lot from you. Four years ago I saw her venting her frustrations out on a log."

Kakashi's eye widened at that and he said "Why would she be doing that?" Guy replied "I don't know, but there's a second side that you need to see. If I'm not mistaken, she's probably at the training ground right now. Come on. I think you need to see her other half." The expression behind the mask on his face was shock. He never knew that Einjeru would be the one to hide how she was feeling.

At the training ground, Einjeru was practicing her stances. "Stupid Sakura. Of all the people to be teamed up with, it had to be her. I swear if we make it through the survival test I will break her in two. There's no way we're going to survive as a squad the way she acts." That was all that was going through Einjeru's head while she was training. Guy and Kakashi get there and remain hidden.

Kakashi starts reading her thoughts and says to Guy "I never knew she would be this frustrated. I'm surprised that she doesn't come to me." Guy then says "You've been training your daughter all this time and made sure she was well versed in the shinobi principles just to forget about number 25?" Kakashi then muttered "A shinobi must never show tears. Emotions only get in the way of the mission. Damn it. At this rate she's a ticking time bomb."

Einjeru however was more focused on just getting her frustrations out. Guy then said to Kakashi "I bet you I can get her to talk. Just stay here and listen." Kakashi's jaw drops at how that was said and just watches. Guy comes up behind Einjeru and she swings around for a kick. Guy dodges and Einjeru says "I've known you and dad were watching. If you must know, I'm just annoyed with Sakura and my other teammate is a total enigma which is flipping me out. Obviously I'm frustrated and talking about it won't help."

Guy smiles and says "How about we spar about it? If I win, you tell me and Kakashi everything. If I lose, I will climb the hokage monument with one hand." Einjeru shrugs thinking "What do I have to lose?" They get into a fighting stance, and Kakashi is watching with intrigue. Guy laughs and says "Your stance is stronger than before." Einjeru sighs and says "No thanks to the weights you gave me."

Guy charges with a Hidden Leaf Hurricane. Einjeru blocks it and holds onto his foot. She then tries to knock him off of his stance by kicking him. Guy was surprised by the movements she was displaying. Kakashi's eye widened as he thought "She isn't going to resort to using the wolf style now, is she?" Meanwhile Einjeru is smirking knowing that he can't recover right away. She jumps back and goes into his blind spot.

Guy smiles thinking "Her speed with the weights on has increased a lot. She might even rival Lee. However, she's just made rookie genin." He recovers and catches her in the middle of her kick. He then pins her saying "You have improved quite a bit in your days at the academy." Einjeru grinned as a shadow started appearing. Guy dodges and Einjeru lands where he just was and the clone disappeared. He gets behind her holding her by her arm and says "Nice try though." Einjeru replies "I guess I lose again." Guy smiled and says "Did you get your frustrations out?" She sighed and nods.

Kakashi comes out and says "We need to talk about this." Einjeru resides herself and says "Can we get something to eat? I haven't eaten since lunch." Kakashi nods and says "But Guy and I pick where we're eating." Einjeru said "Fine. Just as long as it isn't sushi. That stuff makes me sick." Guy gets a weird look on his face and Kakashi said "You don't need to remind me Einjeru."

 _Flashback_ :

It was the beginning of Einjeru's fourth year at the academy. She aced the first test and Kakashi was still introducing her to various foods. He decided in celebration of her passing another test that he would take her out for sushi. Einjeru already decided her favorite food was ramen, but she wasn't a fanatic like Naruto was.

When they got to the restaurant, Kakashi smiled and said to her "This is sushi." Einjeru gets a look on her face saying "I know what sushi is dad." Kakashi gets a sheepish grin on his face and says "Have you eaten it before?" She shakes her head and sits down.

As the food gets in front of them. Einjeru reaches for the shrimp. She eats it calmly at first. A few moments later she turned greener than Guy's suit. Kakashi notices this and says "I guess you can't eat sushi." Einjeru looks around for a bathroom or a garbage can to throw up in.

 _Currently_ :

They get to the barbecue restaurant and sit down. Kakashi says "That was childish earlier. Most days you carry a mature behavior, but today... I can't even say how I'm feeling about your behaviors." Einjeru looked down and said "Even I can't suppress my childish antics dad. I guess that the frustration that built up over the past few years seeped out when Sakura said what she did. I haven't the slightest reason -besides me leaving a bruise on her face- for why she doesn't like me. Naruto hasn't really done anything to her to deserve what she gave him. That was really what set me off. I really can't stand Sakura, and what I said earlier to her was the truth."

Kakashi said "I appreciate your honesty, but you're going to have to put that to the side if you're going to pass tomorrows test, and I'm speaking as your father not as your sensei." Einjeru huffed and said "Say that to Sakura." Guy then says "Yikes! You can't be serious about that answer." Einjeru glared and said "I am. That brat that I'm paired with can't think about anything but Sasuke and it pisses me off. It would get the rest of us killed if we get out in the field and she thinks like that."

She bites her nail and Kakashi gets a serious look on his face. He starts off saying "Your feelings are quite strong. Are you sure that you can put them to the side while on a mission?" Einjeru got frightened at how cold his voice had gotten all of a sudden. She gulped and said "I would do anything to ensure my teammates survive even if it means that I have to set aside my petty squabbles." Kakashi then says "Do you want me to talk to you like that all the time? I really don't want to." Einjeru gulps and shakes her head furiously.

Kakashi then says "You remind me of myself when I was young, Einjeru. It really scares me." She looks down and says "Sorry dad, but I really don't think I can get along with her to save my life. I'll work with her, but there's no way I can be friends with her." Guy then says "That's not very youthful. What happened to the little girl I met at the park 6 years ago?" Einjeru didn't respond. Kakashi then said "It looks like the me of the past has come out in her. I need to teach her a lesson that will show her the error of her feelings." Guy got scared of that.

After the meal, Guy went to train. Kakashi grabbed Einjeru before she snuck off and said "I don't think you want to try that. I can find you anywhere in this village." Einjeru gulped and said "You're mad." He shook his head and said "No. Disappointed. You may have grown in size, but you have yet to experience what it means to grow up." Einjeru then said "What do you mean?" Kakashi let her go expecting that she would follow him.

They get to a training ground that has a special stone. Einjeru looked at it and Kakashi said "This is a special memorial stone dedicated to the shinobi of the leaf that were killed in action. My old squad is on this stone including Naruto's father." Einjeru looked at him and saw the wariness in his eye. He continued saying "The only way my squad bonded was just as my best friend died before my eyes. It was during the third great shinobi war and I was your age." Einjeru then said "What does this have to do with me?"

Kakashi said "Continue looking at the stone. Look for a name similar to yours." Einjeru kept looking until she got to the end and saw and odd name. Kakashi then said "Your mother. This stone reminds me of how much I lost. Naruto's parents were like my second family after my father's death. They died in the nine-tails attack. I accidentally killed my teammate after I vowed to protect her. My other teammate must have been turning over in his grave when I did that." Einjeru then says "What was my mother like?"

Kakashi said "Curious now?" Einjeru glared at him for that question. Kakashi continued saying "Your mom was very sweet. How I fell for her is something I'm still trying to figure out to this day. You have her looks and my personality. I was cold-hearted after my father died. It took so many of my friends dying for me to get the hint. I never knew that you existed until Lord Third sent me after you 6 years ago. I just can't believe that she went on a mission right after you were born. It was like she wanted to do that intentionally. Once I saw her name on the stone, I truly despaired and threw myself into missions. I didn't want to be hurt by my closest friends dying on me. Now that you're here, I've opened up again. I'm trying to tell you to try and be open so none of your teammates suffer the same fate and you end up being like me."

Einjeru looks at him and says "That's easier said than done. To be open with someone is like performing open-heart surgery. One screw-up and everything is toast." Kakashi then says "True, but you know what? It's better to be honest and polite than to lie and be rude." Einjeru shrugged and continued listening. Kakashi put his arm on her shoulder and says "Never abandon your friends, family or comrades. The way of our village is absolute, but so is teamwork. Lets get home. We have to meet up with them early." They headed home.

The next morning, Kakashi grabbed his bells thinking "Squad 7 has always had a bell test to determine whether or not they become genin or not. Minato sensei, I finally understand why the bells are important." Einjeru was finding it hard to sleep after that talk with Kakashi the previous night. She wanted to cry. "Is being a shinobi really all it's made up to be? If it is, then why can't I shake this feeling?" She buried her head in the pillow and sobbed.

Kakashi came in and noticed it. He knocked thinking it would get her attention. Einjeru knew he walked in but her mind wasn't focused on that. The thoughts that were rolling through her mind were making her sick. Kakashi came up to her and noticed she didn't sleep.

Eventually Einjeru was up and at 'em, but she didn't want to go through the bell test. She went straight to the seventh training ground. All of them thought that she was ambushed when she got there because of how much sleep she had gotten. Naruto went up to her and said "What happened?" Einjeru shook her head and said "Dad and I were talking last night and I wasn't able to sleep much."

Kakashi appears and the rest of them thought "What the heck did he say that made her unable to sleep?" Kakashi starts off saying "Good morning." Everyone besides Einjeru then was wondering what this test is about. Kakashi then said "Out of the ten squads that were formed, seven of them will go back to the academy. I will determine whether or not you guys are one of those seven." Einjeru was groggy and thought "I'm not very useful in this state. I'll be impeding on my teammates chances to make genin officially."

Kakashi eyed her and pulled out the set of bells. He then said "The objective is to get these bells from me. If you don't you'll be tied to the post, and won't get any lunch. You'll sit there while I eat mine." Einjeru was used to not eating for long periods of time. Six years of old habits die hard. However she was more focused on sleeping than trying to fight about food. Sakura then says "Great, I also skipped dinner last night."

Kakashi says "You guys have to come with the intent to kill. If you don't, you won't get near the bells." Naruto then says "We'll get those bells. Believe it!" Kakashi speaking as sensei and not his landlord says "Ignore the loser." Naruto grabs a kunai from his pouch and starts charging out of anger. Before any of them got a chance to say anything, Kakashi was behind Naruto holding the kunai to the back of his neck.

Sakura and Sasuke were shocked. Naruto gulped and Einjeru was still out of it. Kakashi then said "You at least came with the intent to kill me. However you are quite impatient. I didn't even say start." Einjeru said "Of course not." Kakashi let Naruto go and said "Ready? Start!" Everyone scattered. Kakashi thinks "The basic of shinobi is to conceal their presence and hide effectively." He looks around and sees that they hid well.

Einjeru in her hiding spot fell right to sleep. Naruto in his hiding spot was thinking "Kakashi is fast. He might go for Einjeru first because of her condition. I have to get to her first." Kakashi still in the open thinks "All of them know that Einjeru isn't running on her A-game. If I am correct and they work as a team, they'll try to find her first. She hid to the east." Naruto looked at the glance and thought "She went to the east huh?"

Sakura in her hiding spot is laughing because of Einjeru. She thinks "Those two will go back to the academy and I will be able to remain with Sasuke." Sasuke however is thinking "I won't be stopped. Einjeru can be of some use because she knows Kakashi's weaknesses the best. I need to get to her." Kakashi senses the boys moving to Einjeru and thinks "Maybe Einjeru is right about Sakura. She's not moving, but laughing and revealing her position to me. I should go teach her a lesson."

Naruto made it over to where Einjeru was heading, but found a black wolf with gray paws and gray tips on its ears and tail. It was sleeping and Naruto thought "Is that Einjeru?" He took a look at the tail swishing back and forth and thought back a couple nights when they were going after Mizuki. The tail was swishing the same way as back then.

Sasuke then came up behind them and said "Is that a wolf?" Naruto nods and says "I have a feeling that is Einjeru, but I don't want to wake her." Sasuke went and poked its ear. It twitched and its eye opened. The iris's are purple and Naruto looks at it intently. It speaks saying "Why are you staring at me Naruto?" Sasuke stands there stunned and it speaks again saying "Why are you two at my hiding spot?"

Naruto grins and says "I was right. The wolf is Einjeru." She yawns and says "Yes, I am a wolf. I normally go to sleep like this. It's part of my bloodline. I can fight in this form as well. However dad can fight me more effectively because this is from his side. Why did you two interrupt my sleep anyway? I could chew you out for this." Naruto said "It wasn't me! It was Sasuke poking your ear." Einjeru shushed him saying "Are you trying to get us found?" She glared at Sasuke and said in the most menacing way possible "Don't poke my ears. It's good way to get on my bad side." Naruto decided that the ear touching was forbidden.

Next thing they knew, they heard scream coming from the other side. They all thought the same thing. "Sakura got caught by Kakashi." They all sighed and Einjeru said "The only way to get the bells is together. All personal interests aside, we need to get to Sakura. Hop on my back you two. We'll draw less attention if only one of us is heard." They did as told and Einjeru flashed through the trees.

They managed to find Sakura unconscious and Einjeru said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Nice dad. Put her under the demonic illusion genjutsu." Naruto then asks "What is that?" Einjeru said "It's a genjutsu that allows the person under it to see their worst nightmare. Most likely she saw Sasuke on the verge of death." Kakashi says "You're quite right. I didn't expect you three to be together like this." Einjeru grumbled saying "It would have been smoother if these two didn't seek me out. I was perfectly fine sleeping." Kakashi notices that someone poked her ears and said "Who poked them?" Einjeru sighs and says "I don't feel like saying."

Naruto and Sasuke hop off her back and stand back to back. Einjeru goes to Sakura and breaks the genjutsu thinking "Stupid girl." Sakura wakes up to see Einjeru in her wolf form and screams. Einjeru says "Calm down Sakura. If I was a wild wolf I would have hurt you already. You were under a genjutsu." She thought to herself "I wanted to leave you under it." Sakura then says "Einjeru?" She nods and says "My father and I will explain later. Right now we need to rejoin the others."

They rejoin them and Kakashi appears thinking "They're all together and Einjeru is in her other form." Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura look at her and Einjeru says "Surround him." Kakashi smiles thinking "I think these guys will work together quite well." Einjeru reverts back to her human form and yawns thinking "They can restrain his arms and legs, and I can grab the bells and hand them off. I can care less. The point was for _us_ to get the bells _together_. It doesn't matter who has them in the end. It's all of us or none of us." Her eyes drift to Naruto and he got the picture. Her eyes drifted to Sasuke and he managed to get the idea when she shifted to Kakashi's arm.

Sakura managed to figure out that the boys were going for the arms which meant that she had to go for the legs. She sighed as she somewhat figured out what Einjeru was going to do. She yells out "No way! You're going to take the bells for yourself!" Einjeru face-palms and Kakashi shakes his head thinking "Einjeru has seen through the exercise already. Sakura and them were going to be given the bells and Einjeru would just sit to the side knowing the objective was completed." Naruto then says "Why do you have to go and say stuff like that? Let's just get the bells and complete the mission." Sasuke then grunts thinking "Naruto is right. It doesn't matter how we get the bells, just as long as we get them."

Einjeru looked at them and said "Okay, so what if I did? The mission was to get the bells from him. Sakura, I can read you like an open book. You would have taken the bells and ran off only leaving one with Sasuke and leaving me and Naruto out to dry. I would have at least given up both of the bells. Self-sacrifice is one of the main aspects of being a shinobi. I would gladly give up my lunch and go back to the academy if it meant my teammates succeeding." Naruto looks at Einjeru and back at Sakura. Einjeru says "In all of this my dad probably put a clone or a log in his place. So this little impromptu plan that I made will become useless. Thanks Sakura."

Kakashi was watching from a distance and said "You guys have passed." Sakura said "What?" Einjeru got the picture and said "It started when Naruto and Sasuke started going for me. We came over to Sakura ready to fight as a team. Even though there were only two bells, he was testing us to see who would put aside their personal interests to complete the mission. Naruto and Sasuke automatically did that by going to look for me because I was too tired to defend myself. I displayed that by releasing Sakura and saying what I did. Sakura, we need to bury the hatchet if we are to survive as a squad." Kakashi appeared with four lunches and said "Squad 7 starts their missions tomorrow." Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura nod, and Einjeru dug into her lunch.

They all looked at her like she was crazy, and she said "Come on. You guys can't say you're not hungry." They all laughed and said "That's true." Naruto then hears his stomach growl and turns pink saying "Time to chow down." They all opened their lunches and ate at the training grounds. Kakashi watched how they interacted with each other. Sasuke was the quiet one. Sakura would keep trying to talk to him and Naruto would try to divert her attention from Sasuke just to get yelled at by her. Einjeru tries to say in a polite manner that Sasuke doesn't want to talk but it ends up getting heated and Naruto calms Einjeru down the best he can.

After lunch, everyone splits and Kakashi comes up to Einjeru saying "I passed them because of you." Einjeru shakes her head and says "I don't think so dad." Einjeru didn't believe it for a minute. The bias isn't good. Kakashi then says "You're right, it wasn't you. It was your actions. You were right about Sakura." Einjeru then said "While we're training, can I break her out of her fangirlish tendencies?" Kakashi says "You can, but you can't be too rough. We can't go on missions if one of our team members is injured." Einjeru nods and yawns.

The next day the squad meets up at the training ground because Kakashi and Einjeru had to explain to the squad about the Hatake bloodline. Naruto and Einjeru were the first ones there. Sasuke came followed by Sakura, and Kakashi came dead-last. Einjeru sighs and says "Now that he is here, what you guys saw yesterday can be explained." She goes into her wolf state and lies in the grass saying "The Hatake clan is known for their white chakra, but also their close assimilation to wolves." Kakashi continues saying "Not only can we flip back and forth at will, but here's a special fighting style that we can use in both forms."

Naruto interjects saying "What's it called?" Einjeru shook her head and said "It's called the wolf style, but don't ask anymore. It's a special technique only to be handed down in the clan." Kakashi smiles and says "Any other questions?" Sakura then says "Why didn't you use that on us yesterday?" Kakashi then said "It was unfair and I didn't need to." Sasuke remained quiet and Einjeru went back to normal and said "What's the mission for today?" Kakashi shrugged and said "We have to report to the mission room at the academy to figure that out."

From that day on, squad 7 would start down the path of the ninja with some of the easiest mission in the world. However a few weeks of this would drive anyone insane.


	4. Chapter 4

A Few Weeks Later/ Mission Boredom

Squad 7 was on a mission for the Feudal Lord of fire's wife. The mission was to capture the cat Tora. Sasuke starts off "Sasuke at Point A. Target is in sight." Sakura continues saying "Sakura at Point B. Same here." Naruto then says "Naruto at Point C. I'm ready to go anytime, believe it." Einjeru then says "Einjeru at Point D. I'm ready to capture a cat." Kakashi then says "Wait until I say to move." The cat hears a ruffle in the leaves and Kakashi says "Now." Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke jump for the cat to miss it. Einjeru jumps thinking "Here goes."

The cat struggles to get free and Kakashi asks "Are you positive on the I.D.?" Sasuke looks and sees the red bow on the ear, and says "Red bow on the right ear. We have Tora." Kakashi then replies "Then the mission to capture Tora is complete." They bring the cat back to the mission room to see it being squeezed to death by its owner.

Naruto thinks to himself "That's what that cat gets." Einjeru says "It seems like that cat was used to shinobi chasing it. It knew every way that we were going to come for it. Sakura then says "A cat can't live that long." Sasuke chimes in saying "It doesn't matter. If the cat is accustomed to running away then it knows how to avoid the people that are sent to capture it." Kakashi then says "This is basically a rite of passage for all genin. I even had to capture that cat."

Lord Third took a look at squad 7 and said "Alright. The next missions for squad 7 are babysitting, weeding a garden..." Naruto blurts out saying "No thanks! I want a harder mission!" The rest of the squad groaned and Naruto continued "We've been doing these lame missions for weeks. How can I do better when all we're given are chores that no one feels like doing?" Kakashi bopped him on the head and said "Shut up Naruto. You've just become rookie genin."

Lord Third said "I figured he'd start his complaining sooner or later. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Einjeru, you guys need to understand the ranks and how they correspond to the missions you're assigned. There are the ranks of jonin like Kakashi, chunin like Iruka and the bottom of the ninja food chain: the genin like you guys. The jonin get A and B ranked missions. The chunin get B and C ranked missions. The genin get C and D ranked missions."

During the explanation Naruto had his back turned and was talking to the rest of the squad about what to eat for lunch. Lord Third yelled out "Hey!" Kakashi turned and said "Sorry about that sir." Einjeru shared the same expression that Kakashi had on his face.(Even though you can't see it on his.) Sakura and Naruto gulped and Sasuke grunted. Naruto then says, "I understand, but I'm not that little prankster anymore. I'm a ninja and I want a ninja mission!"

Everyone sighs and eventually Lord Third says, "I'll give you guys a C rank mission. You guys will be escorting someone from the Land of Waves and guarding him." Sakura then says, "Who is he?" Lord Third continues, "He's a master carpenter. You guys will be protecting him from robbers and the like until he finishes his bridge." Naruto gets fired up and Einjeru resides to the fate of the squad. At least the four of them would be leaving the village for the first time.

Lord Third says, "Send him in!" Next thing anyone knew a drunken man with a tan, a straw hat and some rope tied around his head walked in and looked at the five man squad. He then says, "I'm Tazuna, the master bridge-builder, and you give me a bunch of brats as my escort. Especially the two shorties, the stupid boy and the fragile looking girl?" Naruto then says, "Who is he talking about?" Einjeru realized who the fragile looking girl was and said, "I don't appreciate be talked about like that. My bite is worse than my bark." Naruto then said, "Who's the short stupid little boy?" He then realizes that he's the short one and goes to try and kill Tazuna.

Kakashi and Einjeru go to restrain the blonde kid and Lord Third says, "You guys leave in the hour." The squad acknowledges it, and Naruto had to be carried back to his apartment. As soon as they got there they set him down saying, "You can't go and kill the client Naruto. Without him there's no mission." Naruto finally calms down. He goes to pack his stuff while Kakashi and Einjeru do the same.

Within the hour the squad and Tazuna meet at the gate. Kakashi says, "Let's head out." Naruto gets outside the gate and says, "Yeah! I'm a traveller now!" Tazuna sweat-drops and says, "Am I really safe with him?" Kakashi says, "I'm a jonin. You won't have to worry." Naruto then says, "I'm going to be hokage one day, believe it! When that day comes you'll have to respect me." Einjeru punches him in the face saying "Shut up already. Do you want to alert potential threats to where we are?" Naruto shakes his head and says, "Your punches hurt Einjeru."

They started the journey to the land of waves. It was deadly silent until Sakura says "Hey Kakashi sensei? Does the land of waves have a ninja village?" Kakashi says "No, some lands that have ninja villages do it as a show of military might. Lands like the wave have natural defenses. If you're wondering about enemy ninja, we won't have to worry about that on a C rank mission." Sakura breathes a sigh of relief and Einjeru thinks "I wouldn't relax yet." She goes to Kakashi and whispers in his ear "I smell poison in the air."

Kakashi keeps a vigil after hearing that and they all walk by a puddle. Einjeru and Kakashi think "It hasn't rained in days." As soon as the group walked by the puddle, two figures came up and caught Kakashi in a chain which tightened to the point of ripping him in half. Naruto freezes in place saying, "Sensei!" The two figures go for Naruto and Einjeru jumps in saying, "Like hell I'm letting that happen!" She unleashed a whirlwind of kicks on them after Sasuke broke their chain.

One of the two went for Sakura and Tazuna, and Sasuke jumped in front of them. All of a sudden, Kakashi appeared holding the guy in a choke hold. Naruto is surprised about this, and looked where he was supposedly killed to find a whole mass of logs. "Substitution technique." Naruto thought. Einjeru saw his hand and Naruto flips out in pain. Kakashi gave a serious look and said "We need to treat Naruto's wound immediately. The weapons were poisoned."

Naruto turns purple out of fright and the poison spreading, and screams out, "Save me!" Einjeru knocks him on the head saying "Calm down and give me your hand." Einjeru pulls a kunai out and drains the poisoned blood. She cleans the cut to make sure it isn't prone to infection and saw it was healing on it's own. Naruto saw the intensity in her eyes and said "Should I be worried?" She shook her head and said "You'll be just fine Naruto." She brought out some bandages and finished patching him up. He thinks to himself, "I was so lame and froze while having to be saved by Einjeru and Sasuke of all people." Einjeru looked at him and said "You okay Naruto?" He nods and Einjeru felt something funny on her ankle.

Einjeru pulls down her stocking and sees that one of her weights was damaged. "Damn it!" She thought as she pulled her stocking back up. Kakashi looked at his squad, and said to Tazuna "We need to talk." Sakura then said, "Who were those ninja?" Kakashi then said, "They're chunin from the village hidden in the mist. They're known as the demon brothers."

Einjeru looked at Naruto and saw that he was fuming. She then stood up to be bombarded by Naruto and Sakura. She gets a weirded out look on her face as she asks Einjeru how she remained calm. Einjeru was focused on her father who was explaining to Tazuna about the seriousness of lying to the village about the mission.

They continued the walk and made it to the water. Tazuna's man from the land of waves gave them a lift through the fog. Kakashi said to Tazuna "You need to come clean about who's after you or our mission will end as soon as we hit the docks. We of the hidden leaf don't like being lied to and don't want to risk any of our fresh genin over something as serious as this."

Tazuna started off by saying "The man who is targeting me is a despicable man. His name is Gato." Kakashi gets a stunned look and thinks, "As in Gato the shipping magnate?" Einjeru looked at Kakashi intently and thought,"This guy must be bad news." Tazuna continues saying "He's targeting me because if I connect the land of waves with the mainland, he'll lose control over us."

Naruto thinks to himself "I don't know who this Gato guy is, but I want to take him down myself." Einjeru shakes her head thinking, "This mission jumped from C rank to B or even A rank because of the fact that we're dealing with missing chunin and jonin, and all Naruto can think about is taking down people?" They get near the bridge and Naruto starts blurting out, "Wow!..." Einjeru covers his mouth whispering, "Do you want the enemy to know we're here? You're setting up a 'come and kill us' sign by doing so."

Naruto shuts up and they make it past the bridge into the land of waves. As soon as they make landfall, Kakashi hears the sound of a sword flying towards them and yells, "Get down!" Everyone hit the deck as the sword lodges into a tree and a heavily muscled man appears. Kakashi looks at him and says, "Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the mist." Naruto then yells out, "I want to fight this guy!" Kakashi says "No! The mission is to protect the bridge-builder. The four of you surround him and stay out of this fight." He lifted up his headband and revealed his sharingan.

Zabuza smiles in delight and says "The fabled sharingan. I'm honored that you would fight me using that eye. In the mists assassination unit, there was a standing order to kill you on sight." Sasuke freezes upon hearing sharingan. He thinks to himself, "The bloodline trait of the Uchiha clan. How come Kakashi has it?" Einjeru already knew bits and pieces behind Kakashi's eye. Naruto and Sakura are trying to understand what everyone means by sharingan.

Sasuke says, "The sharingan is the bloodline trait of the Uchiha clan. The sharingan allows the user to analyze an opponents jutsu, copy it and reflect it back at them." Einjeru then said, "The sharingan my dad has was transplanted during the third great shinobi war." Zabuza looks intrigued and says, "These brats sure know a lot about the sharingan and you, eh Kakashi?" Kakashi was thankful that Zabuza didn't catch Einjeru's slip of the mouth when she said dad.

Einjeru realized her slip and covered her mouth. She thinks to herself, "I'm glad Zabuza didn't catch that." Kakashi then sends the thought to her saying, "You sure are lucky he didn't." Einjeru nods and keeps her guard up. Zabuza then says, "I'm afraid to tell you this, but you're going to have to hand over the bridge-builder. Oh wait, no I'm not."

All of a sudden a clone of Zabuza appears in front of all of them. Naruto grins, Sasuke grunts, Sakura screams and Einjeru gets a kunai ready thinking "This is going to hurt." All of them were about to swing the sword until they abruptly stopped. The clones then turned into water leaving them to think, "Water clones." After they dispersed, the squad saw why they stopped. Four Kakashi clones dispersed just as fast as they stopped the water clones.

Meanwhile the real Zabuza and Kakashi were engaged in close combat. Einjeru made two shadow clones to help keep watch while she watched the combat. Kakashi was knocked in the water and as soon as he surfaced, Zabuza was on the water. Kakashi thought to himself "This water is heavier than normal." Zabuza then said "Water style: Water Prison Jutsu." Kakashi then says "Crap!" Einjeru started using her enhanced sense of smell and sight to see Kakashi and Zabuza on the water. Zabuza creates another clone and Kakashi yells to them "You guys need to take Tazuna and run! The mission is more important than me!"

Einjeru growled hearing that. She yelled back saying "That's crap and you know it! The option to run was out the moment you got caught!" Naruto laughs and says "Now we're involved in this fight!" Kakashi was going to pop a blood vessel and said "The water clone can't survive outside a certain distance from the main body. You guys need to take the client and run." Sasuke was in agreement with Einjeru, and they all turned to Tazuna who said "Go on and get your sensei back."

Naruto, Einjeru and Sasuke grinned. Einjeru went over to the two of them saying, "We need a distraction for the water clone so we can sneak on to the water and distract the main one from the water prison. After that Kakashi will be free." Naruto then says, "I've got the distraction and a way to get on the water. What about you Einjeru?" She then says "I dive into the water under the guise of the distraction."

Naruto starts off by making shadow clones. Kakashi face-palms and says, "I told you guys to run." Einjeru tightens her headband and said, "You know I'm hard-headed. Ready Naruto?!" Naruto nods. Sasuke braces himself. Einjeru awaits Naruto and clones to jump on top of the Zabuza clone. As soon as he covered him, Einjeru made a dash for the water.

The Zabuza clone knocked all of the Naruto clones off and one of the clones threw a demon wind shuriken at Sasuke. Sasuke grabbed it and spun around pulling out one of his own. He calls out, "Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows." Sakura starts fan-girling. He threw it past the Zabuza clone onto the water. Einjeru saw the shuriken from underwater and thought "It's showtime." She swam underneath Zabuza's feet and grabbed them, ensuring he had no way to move.

One of the shuriken he caught, however there was another one in it's shadow. Zabuza was impressed and said, "The shadow shuriken jutsu huh?" He was about to jump up when he realized that he was being pulled under. He broke the water prison and managed to get out of dodge. All of a sudden the shuriken turned into Naruto. He threw a kunai saying, "Take this!" Einjeru finally let go of Zabuza's feet and surfaced.

Kakashi stood there and said "That was an excellent plan you three." Einjeru and Naruto grinned. Zabuza looks at Einjeru and says, "So that's who was holding my feet." He grabbed her and said, "I know you wouldn't risk one of your precious students." Einjeru grunts thinking, "Aw nuts! I screwed up big time." Kakashi's eye widened and he fell to a defensive stance. Einjeru gulped knowing the pose meaning she had to pull a dirty trick or risk getting the blunt of the attack.

Einjeru started to kick around and eventually reached her goal. Zabuza dropped her and she tried to move as quick as possible in the water. Naruto caught up to her and they got on land breathing heavy. Sasuke helped them up and they walked over to Tazuna and Sakura. Sakura talks non-stop about Sasuke's heroics and Einjeru says what everyone was thinking: "Shut up Sakura! Sasuke wasn't the only one who did anything. If anything, you're useless."

That shut Sakura right up. Everyone remained quiet and watched the jonin at work. Kakashi was matching Zabuza hand-sign for hand-sign. Zabuza started seeing a shadow that looked like him behind Kakashi. Zabuza was thrown off track, and Kakashi said, "Water style: Giant vortex Jutsu," Zabuza thinks to himself "How? I was going to do that!" Kakashi then says, "Your time is up, demon."

Out of nowhere, some senbon flew right into Zabuza's neck. A masked ninja appeared and said, "You're right. His time was up." Kakashi looks at the mask and says "From the looks of your mask, you're a tracker ninja from the hidden mist." The tracker ninja nods and Naruto immediately gets on the defensive. Sakura then says, "Tracker ninja aren't enemies Naruto. They serve an important role. You shouldn't have skipped class." Einjeru continues saying "Tracker ninja hunt down the shinobi that defect from their village. They're here to make sure that the secrets of their village don't get into enemy hands." Kakashi then chimed in with "For example with my sharingan. If I died and another village got ahold of me, they can analyze the sharingan and figure out a way to defeat it."

The tracker ninja said "You guys are correct. My mission was to hunt down Zabuza and kill him." Einjeru thinks to herself "Something's fishy. There's no way that a tracker ninja was conveniently near by." The tracker ninja says "I must now dispose of the body. If you'll excuse me." The ninja disappears with Zabuza and Einjeru says "There's something weird about this. Wasn't he supposed to dispose of the body right here and now?" Kakashi nods and says "There's no time to discuss it. We need to get Tazuna to his home."

They start walking and Kakashi collapses. Einjeru's eyes widened and she said "You're supposed to be stronger than us, yet you're the one who collapses." She goes into her wolf form and asks for help getting him onto her back. As soon as Kakashi was on Einjeru's back, They got to Tazuna's home and his daughter Tsunami jumps into his arms.

Einjeru clears her throat and says "Excuse me, but our sensei is kind of heavy even for me." She knows she was lying, but because of her size she was dragging Kakashi along the ground. Naruto looks at her and says "How can he be heavy? I thought you were stronger in this form." Einjeru shakes her head and Sasuke says "Look at the size difference between her and him. She's lying about being unable to carry him, stupid." Tsunami looks at the talking wolf and Kakashi, and says "Father? Who's the wolf?"

Tazuna chuckles and says "That's Kakashi's brat. She has a human form, but she's in this form carrying him." Einjeru chuckles and Kakashi groans. Sakura says "He must have overused the sharingan." Einjeru nods and says "It's the primary form of his chakra exhaustion. Normally with a bloodline trait, the bloodline that it originates from has the chakra reserves to use it than someone who wasn't born with it. It takes my dad more chakra to use the sharingan because of that. If I'm not mistaken he'll be out for a week at best."

In the house, after putting Kakashi to bed, Einjeru reverted to her human form and went down to meet with the others. Tsunami looks and says "So we see the human behind the wolf." Einjeru smiles and says "Yes, it's the bloodline for the Hatake clan. Obviously my dad rarely uses it. I kind of like it though." Sakura says "Of course you like turning into a mutt." Einjeru's pride stepped in and she said "You know I can hurt you no matter what form I'm in."

Tazuna then says "What's up with you guys? One minute you guys work together the next you guys are at each others throats." Einjeru shakes her head and said "Someone has a lot to learn about being a shinobi and about using cheep insults." Kakashi in the meanwhile is groaning to the point where Einjeru got annoyed and thought "I'm in trouble."

She went upstairs and Kakashi says "Finally. Were you threatening Sakura?" Einjeru gulped and nodded. Kakashi sighed and said "You're bigger than this. Can't you ignore the insults?" Einjeru huffed and said "You try being called a mutt." Kakashi chuckled and said "I was called baka-kashi by my teammate back in my chunin days. So my little Angel, can't you learn to ignore it?" Einjeru smiled and said "I'll try dad."

The others came upstairs to see Einjeru sitting next to Kakashi smiling. Naruto grins saying "I guess it was a means of getting your attention, eh Einjeru?" She nods and says "When dad is stronger, we need to talk." Sasuke then says "I heard you earlier regarding the tracker ninja. Is that what the talk is about?" Einjeru nods. She goes into her wolf form and lies down. "You'll find out more tomorrow." She said yawning.

The next day, Kakashi was sitting up and stroking Einjeru's fur. She stretched and said "Good morning dad. Could you stop stroking my fur now?" He chuckled and said "It's relaxing." Einjeru scoffed and went to her human form. Tsunami came in and saw the two of them up. She went to get the rest of the squad so they can talk. Naruto was the first one in the room saying "Jeez Kakashi sensei. What's going on?"

Kakashi tried to straighten up and said "If you heard Einjeru's question the other day, then you already know what this is about. Did you guys see what the hunter ninja did with Zabuza's body?" Everyone nodded and Kakashi continues "They're supposed to dispose of the body on sight. Since he didn't, there's a possibility that he may be Zabuza's apprentice. We have less than a week until he is at full strength. During that time you guys will be training."

Sakura then says "What kind of training will make us stronger in a week?" Einjeru got a glimmer in her eye and laughed. Kakashi then said "Chakra control. If you can control the flow of chakra, you can essentially master any technique in theory." Naruto then asks how. Einjeru then says "Tree climbing without using your hands. It's actually a chunin level technique." Kakashi then said "Einjeru, you'll have to show them how it's done." She nods and tells them to follow her to the forest.

In the forest, Einjeru built up chakra in her feet and walked up the tree. She then walked up a branch upside down and said "It looks easy, but you have to know the right amount of chakra to use. Too much and you'll repel off the tree. Too little and you won't stick at all. You guys need to use a kunai to mark your progress. The key to this is focus, and I'm directing this at Naruto." Naruto pouts saying "Aw come on." Einjeru smirks thinking "That should get Naruto to try harder." She releases her suction on the tree and lands gracefully.

The three of them grab a kunai from their pouch and gather chakra in their feet. They start running up the tree and already Naruto fell, Sasuke repelled and and Sakura had gotten pretty high. Einjeru scoffs and thinks to herself "Not bad for a fangirl. Now there's something I need to try." She pulls out a kunai and stuck it in her mouth. Chuckling, she went into her wolf form still holding the kunai in her mouth.

Einjeru starts building chakra in her paws and tries to walk up the tree. By the time she made it past Sakura, her control went out the window and she ended up repelling from the tree. She landed on the ground to see Naruto bumping his head again. Einjeru shakes her head and builds up chakra again. She broke her mark and made it all the way up the tree.

Sakura says "Hey Einjeru! I bet you can't do that in your human form!" Einjeru sighs and says "I wouldn't be doing that in this form if I couldn't. I do it human before I go wolf. Think about that Haruno before trying to diss someone, namely me." Naruto falls again and whines. Einjeru gets to the ground, and Naruto begs for advice. Einjeru shakes her head and says to Naruto "The key is not to allow anyone to distract you from your control. Earlier I was having that problem because of Sakura. After I ignored her, I managed to make it to the top. Just focus on building your chakra to the right point."

Naruto nods and focuses. Einjeru reverts to her human form and heads back to the house. Sakura pushed herself to her limits and eventually followed suit. Naruto and Sasuke continued until dusk and ended up carrying each other back to the house. As soon as they got there, dinner was ready and they were eating so much so fast that they were throwing up as soon as they said "I want more!" Einjeru pulled Naruto's ear and said "Slow down before you make yourself sick." She did the same for Sasuke and Sakura started yelling.

Einjeru ignored her for the most part until Kakashi was bad-mouthed. Her ear twitched and she turned around saying "What did you say about my father/your sensei?" Naruto flinched at the showing of Einjeru's Killing Intent. Sakura repeated and Einjeru pulled her out the door and started blasting her. Sasuke, Naruto, Tsunami and Tazuna were watching from the door and thought the same thing: "Should we get the sensei?"

Before they even turned around, Kakashi was on crutches and walked by all of them to get outside. Meanwhile, Einjeru was delivering blow after blow until her hand was caught. Einjeru's eyes drifted to her hand and saw Kakashi's fingerless glove. She gulped and took a deep breath. Sakura laughed and Kakashi said "I heard everything, you two. Einjeru, I'll deal with you when we return to the leaf. Sakura, that was very disrespectful what you have said. You should be lucky that Einjeru's hits didn't connect. Her punches when she's angry are... devastating." Einjeru chuckled nervously as she knew what the punishment was upon returning to the leaf.

The next day, Einjeru didn't bother getting up. She was essentially grounded. Kakashi kept her by his side at all times just to make sure she didn't go killing Sakura. Einjeru was perfectly content when she wasn't facing Sakura. Kakashi sighs and says "Did you bring the book with you?" Einjeru raised her head and said "You mean our clan book?" He nods and Einjeru goes for her bag.

She reverted to her human form so she could grab the book. Kakashi sighed and said "What happened to ignoring Sakura?" Still looking through her bag, Einjeru replied "That went out the window when she bad-mouthed you. I can ignore her yelling at me about Sasuke and calling me a mutt, but once you were involved all bets were off." She pulled out the book and noticed the bookmark. She went back over to Kakashi and sat next to him.

He opened the book and said "You may be grounded, but you need to be learning something as well. I'm going to try and keep Sakura at bay with guarding Tazuna at the bridge. You'll be in charge of the other two and learning some more of the wolf techniques. The white chakra is something we have to save until we're back to the chore-like missions." Einjeru nods and opens the book to the bookmarked page.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke are in the forest continuing the tree-walking and Sakura is fan-girling about how well Sasuke is doing it. Naruto thinks to himself "I wish I was grounded and forced to stay near Kakashi sensei just so I won't have to hear this." Sasuke then says "What an annoyance. She was more bearable when Einjeru was around." Einjeru sneezed and said "Someone must be thinking or talking about me."

A few days have passed, and Sasuke and Naruto had made it to the top of the tree using their chakra. Naruto collapsed from chakra exhaustion and was left with Einjeru who was trying to constantly infuse her chakra. She managed to create enough clones to fill the room with the amount of chakra she was infusing. She eventually went into her wolf form and lied down on the floor bored out of her mind.

At the same time, a young boy was walking around the house and saw her in her wolf form. He screamed scaring Einjeru out of her boredom. Tsunami came and saw why he was yelling, and said to him "It's okay Inari. She's one of the ninja assigned to guard your grandfather." Inari huffed and said "Then why isn't she with the others?" Naruto woke up and said "I'm late!"

Einjeru then said "Hold your horses Naruto. My dad wants you to stay here." Naruto then says "No way!" Inari then says "Maybe your sensei is right. Anyone who stands up to Gato dies anyways." Naruto then says "What did you say?" Einjeru stood in front of him and said "He's a little boy Naruto. Grow up!" Inari cries and says "You guys should go home!" Tsunami apologizes and Naruto starts heading out to the bridge.

Tsunami then says "Aren't you going to go with him?" Einjeru shook her head and said "I was told to stay with you and Naruto. Besides after the other night, it would only cause friction and potentially causing your father to be killed. Besides that, Gato may send his men after you to use as a bargaining chip. This is a way to cover all of our bases and make sure nothing happens to anyone." Tsunami nods and goes to clean up the house.

Meanwhile at the bridge, Kakashi Sasuke, and Sakura were standing near Tazuna until a mist appeared. Kakashi said "Get ready!" Sasuke and Sakura readied their kunai and a group of Zabuza clones appeared out of nowhere. Sasuke grins and says "I can see through them." Zabuza appears with the masked ninja from the previous week. The masked ninja says "Just give us the old man."

Kakashi then says to Sasuke "I leave the masked guy to you Sasuke." Sakura already knew to stay with Tazuna. Zabuza says "I won't fall prey to your monkey see monkey do tricks anymore Kakashi." Meanwhile Naruto is blazing through the forest to make it to the bridge. However, he comes across a dead boar. He notices that it was just killed and sees slashes in all of the trees heading in the direction of the house.

Back at the house, Einjeru is in her human form and keeps an eye on Tsunami and Inari. "This is my way of contributing to the teamwork." She thinks. All of a sudden there's a crash and a scream. Einjeru jumps and sneaks downstairs. She peers into the kitchen and sees two thugs trying to kidnap Tsunami. Inari tries to go up against the thugs and gets held against his will.

"That does it!" Einjeru thought as she clutched a kunai in her hand. Naruto then yells "Hold it right there!" Einjeru smirks and thinks "What an idiot." As the thugs turn towards the screaming Orange-clad ninja, Einjeru knocked them out, and turned to Tsunami and Inari smiling. Tsunami took a breath of relief and Naruto comes in and says "You alright?!" Einjeru smiled and said "If it wasn't for you I couldn't have snuck behind them and knocked them out." Naruto giggled and gave her a look. Einjeru reads the thoughts behind the look and frowned.

Naruto starts off the argument by saying "You're needed at the bridge Einjeru." Einjeru grumbles and says "You know I can't do that Naruto. I'm already in enough trouble with my dad for fighting with Sakura that night. Besides we just proved my father right about needing to keep guard on Tsunami and Inari." Naruto then says "What happened to the friend who would skip class with me?" Einjeru shook her head and said "I'm still your friend, but there's a time for us to grow up. Unfortunately when we graduated the academy that was my time." Naruto was stunned by this remark and went to the bridge. Einjeru bit her lip and held back her tears. She hates fighting with Naruto, but defying Kakashi meant a larger punishment upon getting back to the village. She was already in trouble for almost putting Sakura six feet under.

Naruto had gotten to the bridge and saw Sasuke was trapped in the masked ninja's jutsu. He yelled out and Kakashi said "Why would you give away your position? That was very stupid Naruto." However he was hoping Einjeru was with him, but knowing how strict he was when punishing her, he didn't hold his hopes out. Sasuke was thinking of how Naruto could attack from the outside, yet Naruto appeared next to him saying "I'm here to save you." Sasuke face-palmed before both of them got hit with a barrage of senbon.

Back at the house, Einjeru regained her composure and stayed close to Inari. Tsunami came up to her and said "He's your best friend. Why did you not go with him?" Einjeru shook her head saying "There are different facets of my dad that not too many people see. He's Naruto's landlord, he's our sensei, and then there's nice dad and angry/disappointed dad. Nice dad gives advice and treats me to various restaurants in the village. Angry/disappointed dad disciplines me and normally keeps me in the house sort of speak. When going against his wishes, that side comes out. I really want to go, but I'm already in enough trouble with him and he said he'd deal with me fighting with Sakura upon getting back to the village."

Tsunami then pats her back and says "I'm sure your dad and teammates can use every hand they can get at the bridge. If you get in trouble for it, I'll explain it." Einjeru smiled and said "What about you and Inari?" Tsunami smiled and held up a frying pan saying "I can handle it." Einjeru smiled and said "I apologize about that." She rushed out the door after putting her pouches and her slightly mended weights on.

At the bridge, the masked kid was bombarding Naruto and Sasuke with the speed and senbon. Kakashi was fending off Zabuza the best he could. Einjeru was sticking to the shadows to figure out what was going on. She revealed her wolf ears to hear better and her eyes had changed to increase her sight. "I'm starting to master my partial changes better." She thought. She looked into the dome of ice to see Naruto collapsed and the masked kid and Sasuke going for him. "It's now or never! It's time to put all that training and spars with Guy during my academy days to good use."

She charged at the ice dome yelling out "Hidden Leaf Hurricane!" She managed to put a crack in the ice mirror, but the force wasn't enough to break it. Einjeru thought to herself "Damn it! I was hoping for that to work." The masked ninja came out of the mirror impressed that it was cracked by the force of a kick. Kakashi was relieved that Einjeru showed up and was surprised that she had learned that move.

Naruto woke up to see Sasuke in front of him. Sasuke was relieved that Einjeru showed up when she did. Sasuke then thought "If I can direct her on where to go, her speed with the weights on is almost on par with the enemy. She'll be able to land a hit on him and we can break this jutsu." Sasuke calls to Einjeru who gets in the dome without being noticed. She grinned and said "I can go even faster. It's time to test how much faster I've become without these things on." Naruto then says "Are you nuts?! The last time you took those things off, no one could catch you." Sasuke grins and says "That's what we need right now. Not to mention she's not exhausted."

Kakashi remembered the last time she was going around the village without the weights that Guy gave her. Everyone begged him to make sure she kept them on until it was deemed necessary to take them off. He thought to himself "Her number one aspect is speed. Not to mention the weights add quite a bit of impact to her kicks. It's time for her to take them off and take out that boy." Zabuza then goes for the bridge-builder and Sakura. Kakashi gets there in the knick of time.

Zabuza gets Kakashi with the sword and says "I'm disappointed. I expected more out of you." Kakashi smirked behind his mask and pulled out a scroll from his pocket. Einjeru smelled his blood and thought "He's going to summon the ninken to sniff Zabuza out by using his own blood. He wanted Zabuza to slice him." Meanwhile the masked ninja was awaiting to see what Einjeru was going to do. Kakashi said to Einjeru in thought "Do it."

Upon hearing that in her head, Einjeru told Naruto and Sasuke to back up. She then pulled her stockings down and removed the weights from her knees. She nods to Sasuke who tells Naruto to run out of the dome. The ninja came out and Sasuke told Einjeru where to go. All anyone else saw was a black and purple blur. The ninja then said "How? No one can match my speed." Einjeru grinned and said "It pays to have training with a taijutsu expert."

After Kakashi wiped his blood on the scroll and waved it around, he weaved the signs and called out " Summoning: Earth Style: Fanged Pursuit Jutsu." The ninken were moving through the ground and popped up immobilizing Zabuza. Kakashi came over to him as the mist cleared.

In the dome, Einjeru had pinned the ninja down and unmasked him. Naruto recognized the boy and said "So that person was Zabuza?" The boy nods and says "My name is Haku. I was born in the land of snow to poor farmers My mother however had a special bloodline trait. After the wars, the people of the land feared those with the bloodline trait. My mom managed to hide it until I demonstrated it. My father discovered it and killed my mother. He was going to kill me as well, but my powers reacted out of my fear and I killed him. I then left my home just to find that no one cared about my existence."

Einjeru then said "Then how did you cross paths with Zabuza then?" Haku continued saying "I was sitting on a bridge and he found me. He made me feel useful. However now that you guys have defeated my jutsu, I have become useless." Naruto felt bad and Einjeru was torn between what she was taught by Kakashi and the way her teammates would look at her for killing someone in cold blood. Sasuke then says "Well we can't let him live, but we don't have the heart to kill him either."

Einjeru gulped and said "You guys need to promise me that you won't react out of fear for what I'm about to do." Naruto's eyes widened and Einjeru said "This will be my first kill, I know, but we have to complete our mission no matter what. They're missing ninja anyway." Sasuke said "She's right idiot. If we let him live, it will create problems for us down the road." He nods to her and Einjeru holds a kunai to Haku's jugular. She gulps again and runs the blade against it, hard and fast.

Naruto holds back his vomit and Einjeru looked at her blood-stained hands. The crystal mirrors broke signifying that Haku was dead. Sakura noticed the mirrors disappearing and saw three figures, one of them hunched. Tazuna nudged her saying "Take me with you so you're not disobeying your sensei's orders." Sakura grabbed him and ran over to them. She was frightened by what she saw.

Naruto and Sasuke put their hands on Einjeru's shoulders and Sakura said "Who killed him?" Naruto and Sasuke remained quiet, both grudgingly acknowledging that they didn't have the heart to kill when their younger teammate did. Einjeru spoke up saying "It was me. I killed him." She shook and said "I don't know what to do. I'm scared." Her necklace started to react and Kakashi was about to tell the ninken to rip Zabuza to shreds.

Out of the blue a voice called out "Wow! You're worthless Zabuza! I'm glad I wasn't going to pay you." Zabuza glared at Gato saying "I have no reason to go after the old man which means I have no quarrel with you, Kakashi." Kakashi released the summoning and said "Well I have my squad to tend to." He flashes over to them and Gato says to the massive group of thugs behind him "Kill the ninja and the bridge-builder."

Back over with the four genin, Kakashi appeared and saw why her necklace was reacting. Einjeru was in shock. Kakashi motioned for them to back up as he moved closer to Einjeru. Einjeru looked at Kakashi and shakily said "I killed him dad. I-I k-killed h-him." Kakashi nods and says "The first kill is never easy. As ninja we have to confront death, be it that we're delivering the final blow or receiving the final blow."

Zabuza comes over and says "I know you're having a counseling session with one of your students, but we have a problem." Kakashi looked up and saw a crowd of thugs ready to ravage the bridge. Einjeru looked up knowing that something had changed and looked behind her thinking "Aw come on." Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura readied their kunai. Einjeru stood up and grabbed the kunai from Haku's throat.

The thugs charged thinking that they were going to make it into the village. Naruto and Einjeru had a good amount of chakra to make a bluff. Both of them called out the multi shadow clone jutsu. Kakashi smiled thinking "I could at least help with the bluff." He called out multi shadow clone jutsu and a sheer amount of him appear saying "Wanna fight!" Einjeru's mouth dropped upon hearing that. Naruto whined saying "Aw! I wanted to say that! Why'd you steal my line Kakashi sensei?!"

All the thugs quivered with the amount of opponents that appeared. The Einjeru clones all yelled "Boo!" Upon hearing that the thugs ran back to the boat. Zabuza managed to sneak off during the commotion. Kakashi undid the jutsu and looked at Einjeru who was laughing until she looked at her hands. He came over to her and said "It's okay. Just be grateful we're not in the middle of a war right now." Einjeru sighed and said "I guess you're right dad."

A couple of weeks later, the bridge was completed and the mission was completed without no more surprises. Squad 7 was recuperated and ready to head back to the village hidden in the leaves. Getting back, Kakashi reports in to Lord Third and gives him the mission report. Lord Third expressed concern about Einjeru's mental state and wanted to see her.

Einjeru was at Ichiraku picking at her miso pork ramen. Naruto sat next to her wondering why she was picking with it. He starts off saying "Hey Einjeru? Aren't you happy we completed the mission?" Einjeru shrugged and said "I guess, but I don't feel well." All of a sudden an ANBU Black Ops. came in and said to Einjeru "You're requested in the hokage's office." She nods and takes her ramen to go.

At the hokage tower, Einjeru awaited to go in and see what Lord Third wanted to see her for. Lord Third told her to come in and he looked at Einjeru with a critical eye. Einjeru wanted to curl up into a ball. Lord Third starts off saying "I'm glad you guys returned safely. Kakashi told me about you killing a masked ninja." Einjeru shook her head and said "He was unmasked when I killed him. I shook upon seeing what I did. I'm just nervous about what my team thinks of me."

Lord Third says "Even I could sense that you were hesitant about it. It's not like you wanted to kill the boy. You felt you were doing what was best." Tears ran down her cheeks and she yelled "He was innocent! He was innocent and I killed him. I feel like I don't deserve to be here!" Kakashi was hidden in the room and was heartbroken when he heard that. He came up behind her and said "Why do you think that?" Einjeru shrugged saying "I don't know. I just didn't feel right about killing him."

Kakashi then says "Even if they did change sides, in the end they were a threat and you needed to defend yourself as the situation called for it. If you kill them, you kill them. The life of a shinobi only gets harder Einjeru. It's not as glorified as it's made out to be." Einjeru then says "How did you make it through?" Kakashi smiles and says "It's my comrades. My comrades help me through. Take Guy for instance." Einjeru got the picture once she heard Guy.

She said "I haven't been myself since the incident in question. I'm trying to cope, but it hasn't been easy." Kakashi then said "It never gets any easier, and you're still in trouble for fighting with Sakura, but because of what happened I won't make it as severe as I intended. Maybe Sakura can be of some help during your emotional transitions." Einjeru nodded and said "Are we getting some time off? I haven't really been sleeping or eating lately. I just haven't been feeling well." Lord Third says "All genin are on mission suspension. It will allow their sensei or squad leader to decide whether or not they're ready." Einjeru nods and says "May I go home now?" Kakashi then thinks "She knows what's going on, but her mind and body aren't in synch with each other causing her not to feel well."

Kakashi brings her home and says "You sure are taking this hard." Einjeru shook her head and was falling asleep after 2 weeks of sleepless nights. Kakashi smiles thinking "Sasuke, Naruto and Einjeru are beyond ready for the chunin exams. Their physical strength is up there and their teamwork surpasses my old team for the most part. I mostly expected Naruto to argue with Sasuke, but it's Einjeru with Sakura. Well Lord Third is expecting the decisions next week. I'll test them again to see if they're ready for one of the deadliest exams in the ninja world."

A few weeks later marked the start of the chunin exams. Even though Kakashi deemed them ready, the squad had their individual doubts. Einjeru wasn't ready to face the perils of the test, but she told herself to do her best. The first test was a mental one. Naruto feared for his best friend since the land of waves. Sasuke was determined to test his strength against the other opponents. Sakura still had her head in Sasuke's behind. Lately Einjeru had been ignoring it and seeing a shrink. (Kakashi's punishment which for once Einjeru appreciated.)

Upon entering the first test, Einjeru saw some familiar faces and some not so much. Her academy classmates were there plus some of the hidden leaf's other genin including Guy's squad. Einjeru recognized Lee quickly and hoped she'd have a bout with him sometime during the exam.


	5. Chapter 5

Chunin exam Preparation and Mania

The week before the first test, Einjeru and Naruto were enjoying a bowl of ramen before she had to go see her shrink. If she skipped an appointment, Kakashi was sure to have the ANBU after her. Einjeru shuddered at the thought when she was actually contemplating on skipping out on the first appointment.

 _Flashback_ :

It was a few days after squad 7 returned from the land of waves. The hokage requested that she saw someone to talk about the kill though made it not mandatory. Kakashi decided to make it her punishment for almost beating Sakura to a pulp. He threatened her saying "I will personally see to it that the ANBU drag you to the shrink by any means necessary if you try to skip out. I do know when you do something against my wishes regarding your health." Needless to say, no matter how much she considered it, she never acted on it.

The following day, Kakashi was in the hokage's office and it was Einjeru's first appointment at the shrink. She sensed the ANBU and didn't want to see if her fathers threat held true. She went to the psych ward of the hidden leaf hospital and was welcomed by her shrink.

Einjeru has been seeing the shrink weekly and she's been transitioning back into the innocence of village life without the flashes of bloody hands like the first couple of weeks. Kakashi accompanied her a couple of times to ask about the results first-hand. The shrink gives him a rundown and asks about the chunin exams and why he was pushing so soon. Kakashi looked at Einjeru and made it her choice as the exams got closer as to whether or not to partake in them.

The answer was obvious as Einjeru said "I think I'm ready, but I may not make it through the second round without a little bit of a relapse. I'll be relying on Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura more so than I'd usually like to." Kakashi smiled behind his mask and says "Just try your best. I still want you to see your shrink during the exam if possible." Einjeru nods.

 _Presently_ :

Kakashi appeared at the ramen shop and saw Einjeru not fidgeting with her ramen like she was when they first returned. He sat next to her and said "Your appointment is soon." She nods and Naruto says "Kakashi sensei? Why is she seeing a shrink? She seems fine." Einjeru shakes her head saying "Being a shinobi takes a toll on you physically and mentally. My mental stance took a heavy hit when I killed Haku. It will probably relapse during the exams. If I falter, you guys will need to get me out of range." Naruto nods and says "Don't you worry. I've got your back." Einjeru smiled and Kakashi said "You have to move."

At the shrinks office, Guy was waiting for them with a combination of pity and happiness. Einjeru tries to smile at Guy before he whisks her into a hug. Einjeru swore there was a sunset behind them and Kakashi tapped him on the shoulder saying "She's fine. Could you let her go now?" Einjeru shook her head and smiled for real knowing that she had friends in her corner to talk to if she was to relapse. The shrink came out and said "Right on time Hatake." Einjeru nods and says "See you guys in an hour for a spar." Kakashi nods and Guy gives a flashy smile.

Within the hour, Einjeru came out to a group of jonin and genin. Amongst the genin was Naruto and Sasuke from her squad; Lee from Guy's squad; and Shikamaru and Choji from Asuma's squad. The jonin consisted of Guy and Kakashi. Einjeru gave an inquisitive look as to find out why they were all at the shrinks office waiting for her. Kakashi said "Everyone decided to help you by having it out with you in a battle royale. They all feared for their friend/comrade." Guy then said "I know you wanted someone to test your skills that you acquired from me during your academy days, so before that day comes I wanted to introduce you to Rock Lee. He'll be observing this time around." Einjeru frowned and said "You're giving him a little bit of an advantage by doing this. I don't think it's fair Guy."

Rock Lee then says "I'm honored to meet you Einjeru. I hope we can face off during the exams." Einjeru nods hoping the same thing. Naruto then says "Let's get this battle royale started." Einjeru then faces Kakashi and Guy saying "Are you two involved in this?" Kakashi nods and Guy strikes his nice-guy pose. Einjeru cracks her neck knowing to expect Kakashi to be pushing the clan techniques on her during this. She then says "What are we waiting for? Let's get to the training ground."

At the training grounds everyone was ready for the battle against the Hatake heiress. She sighed and said "I'm fighting my best friends and my father. This will be fun." Kakashi reminded everyone that it was strictly taijutsu and no weapons or ninjutsu are to be used. It made things fair for everyone and not trigger a relapse attack in Einjeru. Everyone detached their kunai and shuriken pouches and set them on the ground. Einjeru's right hand started to twitch subtly, and Kakashi noticed it. He made a mental note to ask about that later.

With that he started it. Naruto charged in without a second thought and got flipped over. Einjeru smiled and thought "I don't feel so stiff right now. Normally after a visit to the shrink I'm stiff, but today, not a stiff muscle to be felt." After she came out of her thought, Guy came at with a Hidden Leaf Hurricane which was countered by one of her own in the opposite direction. Shikamaru and Choji came at her and got knocked on their behinds. The next thing she knew Kakashi jumped her from behind and she thought "Aw come on! I was going to learn that move next!" Kakashi laughed and said "You aren't to touch that book unsupervised. You know that." She grumbled and shoved him off.

Kakashi then said "You still have a long way to go before you can beat me, my pup." Einjeru laughed at the fact that he hadn't called her pup in years. Guy didn't know why she was laughing until she explained the nicknames. Guy smiled and Kakashi said "What's wrong with pup? Technically that's what a wolf's offspring is called." Einjeru smiled and said "I have no problem with it. It's just it's been so long since you've called me that."

After all that, Kakashi and Einjeru decided to go to Ichiraku for some ramen. Kakashi looked at Einjeru intently and she looked at him saying "Are you having second thoughts dad?" He looked at her shocked and nods saying "I'm just nervous for you. I never expected you to have your first kill so soon. I wanted you to stay innocent." Einjeru looked down and said "Well, it happened and... and I just wish that I didn't do it." Kakashi rubbed her back and said "It gets slightly easier as you get used to it. Just promise me that you won't kill without having some remorse." Einjeru nods.

The next day, Lord Third requested squad 7 to do some chores. Einjeru felt slightly better that she just wasn't sitting around after so long. Lord Third smiled at the young girl saying "You've recovered quite nicely from the incident. I want to ease you back into things before the chunin exams." Einjeru nods and goes to work. Kakashi appears next to Lord Third saying "Looks like seeing the shrink did wonders for her." Lord Third nodded and set the squad off on their assignment.

Afterwards, Kakashi requested that he and Einjeru do some one on one training so he can see if she was able to try and wield the weapons without a relapse. They met on the training field and Einjeru said "What's this for dad? I said I'm fine." Kakashi widened his eye and said "Then you won't mind this test then." Einjeru sighed at the annoyance that she was facing. Her eyes drifted across the various weapons until she came across a tanto and she zoomed in on it. Kakashi smiled as he walked up to her and picked it up.

He started off saying "Do you know what this is?" Einjeru shrugged and said "It looks like a tanto but it looks like it has special properties." Kakashi then said "It's the white light chakra saber." Einjeru looked at Kakashi wondering what he was getting at. Kakashi continued "This was destroyed during the third great shinobi war. However I managed to retrieve the pieces and had it re-forged. It was your grandfathers, and it was handed down to me. I was hesitant about seeing if you were ready to handle it. Looks like I was worried about nothing."

Einjeru then said "Why now?" Kakashi said "I wanted to see how your mindset was now that we're getting closer to the exam." Einjeru shook her head and said "It's as its always been. I'm going to do my best." Kakashi sighed and said "I don't even know why I get nervous about you." He comes behind her and grabs her arms and starts teaching her how to handle it properly.

A few days later, Kakashi decided to test her against the squad now that he knew that weapons or jutsu weren't going to cause her to go into shock or relapse. Einjeru walked into the training ground with the chakra saber proudly on her back and was wondering where her teammates were. She shrugged it off and practiced the stances and slashes that Kakashi taught her. Naruto came into the training ground saying "Wow you're early! I thought you had an appointment or something."

Einjeru hit Naruto for implying that she had a tardiness streak like her father. Naruto then said "I meant because of lately with all of your shrink appointments. I never hinted at what you hit me for. That hurts!" Einjeru growled angrily at him and revealed her canines which were longer than before. Naruto thinks to himself "Okay her wolf genes have taken over. I should not piss her off anymore." Sasuke appeared with a whiny Sakura.

Sasuke started off with a genuine looking smile and said "How are you today?" Einjeru grew wide eyed at that, and Naruto yelled out in shock. Einjeru thought to herself "So that's why Sakura's whining?" She laughs and says to Sasuke "Very good! You just made my day." Sakura looked at Einjeru and noticed that she was sporting a new weapon.

Naruto and Sasuke looked and noticed the handle sticking out from her back. Einjeru smiled and said "Family heirloom. Also a weapon I can use for protecting my friends and comrades." She unsheathed the tanto and channeled her chakra into it as taught. She then slashed the nearest thing which happened to be a log. They all looked in amazement as they saw the white chakra flow from the weapon in question. Einjeru grinned and said "It belonged to my grandfather." Naruto then said "Who was he? He had to have been awesome to wield a weapon like that."

Einjeru knew her father was near and wasn't sure if she should reveal who he was. Kakashi then said to her in thought "Go ahead." Einjeru smiled and said "I'm sure that in history class we went over famous heroes of the leaf. One of them was the White Fang." Sasuke and Sakura nodded and Einjeru said "This sword earned him that nickname. However there was one person that wielded it before me." Naruto yells out in excitement "Who is it?!" Said person appeared behind them and said "That would be me."

The four of them looked at him and all except Einjeru said "You?!" Kakashi chuckled and said "Yes me. The grandfather that she is referring to is my father." Sasuke nods and says "So, Einjeru. You're a third generation prodigy?" Einjeru shook her head and said "If I were, why would I have spent the past few weeks in counseling?" Kakashi then intervened saying "I didn't call you guys here to talk about history or who's a prodigy. I called you guys together to test your skills one more time before the exams."

Einjeru then said "This is more or less a test for me. I know that much, dad." Kakashi chuckled and said "Yes, it's the three of you versus Einjeru." Einjeru grumbled knowing that the tables were turned against her again, but the other time the tables were turned against her the results were a joke. Naruto then said "Weapons and ninjutsu are allowed this time?" Kakashi nods and Einjeru thinks to herself "Knocking out Naruto's shadow clones will be cake. I won't even have to use jutsu on him or Sakura. It's Sasuke I have to watch for."

Kakashi gets out of dodge and Einjeru readies herself with the white light chakra saber. All of them saw that and readied kunais. Einjeru thought to herself "They've wizened up since the last spar we had as a squad. Well then..." She disappeared and Sasuke turned on his sharingan and knew exactly where Einjeru would strike. Sasuke yelled over to Naruto and he narrowly got out of dodge. Einjeru thought to herself "Curse Sasuke and his sharingan."

Sakura tries to get a hit in but misses horribly. Einjeru wanted to taunt her, but with all the talks from her shrink, she thought it was better to not. Instead she turned around ready to slash. Sasuke got into the fray with a couple of kunai and Einjeru grinned. She called out the multi shadow clones and they each took a slash at Sasuke who dodged perfectly. Einjeru upped her speed using chakra and managed to rip his shirt. Naruto decided to fight fire with fire and used the multi shadow clones. All of the clones disappeared in less than thirty seconds. Einjeru decided to sheathe her tanto and went for the kunai approach.

Sasuke puts some distance between himself and Einjeru, and decided to give her a run for her money. Einjeru then noticed the signs for the fireball jutsu and thought "Dad was supposed to start teaching me how to use the elemental jutsu after I became a genin. With all the problems that I had and the missions... We haven't had time like we used to." She sighed after dodging and got a glum look in her eye. At first she was looking bored until her movements slowed, and Kakashi decided to stop the training before someone got injured due to their lack of awareness.

He dismissed the squad and looked at Einjeru saying "You're not relapsing are you?" She shook her head and said "I was just thinking of something you said to me before I graduated from the academy. Sasuke had reminded me of it when he used the fireball jutsu." Kakashi thought back a couple months and said "You mean about elemental techniques?" Einjeru nods and Kakashi said "I did make you that promise. With all that was going on, I was fearing for your mental stability. I guess we can figure out which element you're predisposed to and go from there."

Einjeru nods and Kakashi pulls out a slip of paper to hand to her. He starts the lecture by saying "These slips are created from a special tree that was raised on chakra. When the paper crinkles; you're lightning natured, if it burns; you're fire natured, if it splits; you're wind natured, if it crumbles; you're earth natured, and if it gets wet; you're water natured. Channel your chakra into the paper and we'll see what reaction you get."

Einjeru held the paper in her hand and closed her eyes. She had the chakra flow through her hand to her fingers. She exhaled and the paper crinkled. She opened her eyes and said "Looks like I have lightning." Kakashi looked at her beaming and saying "Looks like there's one more thing that I can pass on to you." Einjeru looked at him and said "I swear I'm becoming more like you everyday dad." Kakashi smirked and said "Hey you're a Hatake. I can't help that." She smiled and said "No you can't, but there are some habits that you can stand to break."

Kakashi shakes his head and weaves some lightning style signs and lightning chakra appeared in his right hand. Einjeru then said "This is not a jutsu that anyone knows." Kakashi nods and says "I developed this jutsu myself. It's called chidori. There's a more powerful variant, but I'll save that for later. I'm glad that I'll be able to pass this jutsu on."

Einjeru then said "I assume after the second test if I pass it is when I'll be learning this?" Kakashi nodded. Einjeru sighed and walked over to him. They proceeded back to the apartment to prepare for the exam the next day. Einjeru just remembered that she was supposed to write about the day in her thoughts journal. It was her homework from her shrink. Kakashi walked in to see her writing and asked about it. Einjeru shrugged it off and said "If this wasn't mandatory I wouldn't do this, but it's what my shrink has me do outside of our appointments." Kakashi nods and says "Hurry up. You want to be well rested for the first test tomorrow." Einjeru nodded and finished her scribbles.

The next day was the start of the chunin exams. Einjeru headed straight to the academy with all the snack bars that she could store in her bags and her weapons. "I will help my teammates" She thought to herself. Kakashi was waiting outside for her and as he saw her coming he dropped his calm facade. As she got near him he kneeled down and said "Genin die in these exams. I want you to be careful." Einjeru scoffed it off saying "Are you doubting your own training regiment dad?" He shakes his head and says "No I'd never doubt that."

Einjeru walks in to see her teammates waiting for her. She grinned and said "Guys, let's go raise some hell." They walked in to see the rookies from their class as well as Guy's squad and the other genin of their own village as well from the hidden sand, hidden grass and a new village that had never been heard of called the hidden sound. Shikamaru and Choji walked up to her and said "Good to see you're looking better Einjeru." She smiled and said "Thanks to you guys."

All of a sudden Rock Lee comes up in a boisterous manner and says "I really hope to battle you sometime in this exam after seeing you in action that day." Einjeru nods and says "I'd like that, and I wouldn't pull any unfair advantages." Rock Lee smiled and gave the same nice guy pose that Guy used. Another genin with silver hair came over and said to the rookies and Guy's squad that they were drawing unwanted attention.

Naruto blurted out "Oh yeah! Who are you four-eyes?" The silver haired kid said "My name is Kabuto and I will be taking this exam for a seventh time." All of the genin were surprised but Einjeru and Sasuke didn't show it. Einjeru was thinking "If anything he's a spy. There's no way that a genin would have failed the exam seven times unless he dropped out every time." Naruto shook Einjeru out of her thoughts asking her if she was okay. Einjeru smiled saying that she was in her own thoughts.

Kabuto pulled out a card saying "These ninja information cards show information about a specific ninja when infused with chakra. I'll just use Einjeru as an example." Einjeru popped in front of them and looked at hers. Kabuto said "Wow an A-ranked mission as rookies. You guys were lucky to make it back alive." Naruto grabbed Einjeru's shoulder before she did something she was going to regret. Her right hand shook and she bared her teeth.

Sakura thought to herself "Einjeru had been pretty out of it since that mission. So far her composure has been kept, but now that it has be brought up by someone else, she might snap." Einjeru looked at Sakura saying "It's fine. I just hate being underestimated by someone who just looks at files and information cards." Sasuke then says "Well what about Rock Lee here?" Kabuto pulls up Lee's information and says "He can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. He strength lies in taijutsu. He's almost where Einjeru is in that category. Sad to say the least for the daughter of the copy ninja of the leaf/ granddaughter of the white fang."

Einjeru revealed her canines and said "You know, I'd be more than happy to show you what I'm made of. That A-ranked mission was something that traumatized me yes, but I'm not afraid to say my hands have been blood-stained already." Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were shocked when they heard her say that. All of the genin look at her thinking the same thing. Kabuto then said "Is that why you've been seeing a shrink?" Naruto felt the Killing Intent coming off in waves. Sasuke and Sakura noticed that she was beyond trying to calm down. Einjeru brought back her fist and hit Kabuto so hard that when he fell, his glasses shattered.

She took a deep breath and a deep voice bellowed. Einjeru shot her look to the front of the room. A man appeared with a bandana style hidden leaf forehead protector. He starts off saying "My name is Ibiki Morino. I'm your proctor for this exam." Einjeru froze upon hearing the head of T&I department's name. She stood on edge knowing the more insane torture methods that he used. The psychological torture that he gave destroyed you forever. Einjeru had the misfortune of going against Kakashi who ended up cashing in a few favors with him. Needless to say she had more than her share of psychological torture.

Naruto saw how she stood on end. He goes to her and says "Why are you so scared of this guy?" Einjeru said "It was a miracle I survived my psychological training during our academy days. That guy is the master of torture, and my psychology tutor. My dad pulled no stops in training me. The only exception was coping with my first kill." Ibiki looked at Einjeru with a gleam in his eye knowing that she'll be able to see through his bluffs.

 _Flashback_ :

Kakashi dragged her to the Torture and Interrogation office when she refused to tell him where his Make-out Paradise book was. Ibiki was waiting for them. Einjeru's knees gave way when she saw the look in his eyes. Kakashi said "I'll give you one more chance Einjeru. Where's my book?" Einjeru retaliated saying "There's no way I'll tell you where that perverted book is! You'd think you'd have more respect for me by not reading it!"

Kakashi stuck Einjeru in front of Ibiki and said "Maybe you can get her to talk. Consider this one of the favors you owe me." Ibiki grinned in delight that he'd be breaking the young Hatake. Einjeru quivered and stood to her resolve of never revealing the location of that book. As soon as she was inside, Einjeru started her attitude.

Ibiki was delighted that Einjeru was going to be stubborn. He started off saying "This is good for you actually. You'll be able to resist a lot of the torture that you'll face on missions if you're ever captured." He started off with a little bit of using her favorite things on her, but Einjeru wasn't cracking.

A few hours later, Einjeru was covered in bruises, scratches, and the like. She spit a little blood out of her mouth and said "I'm not giving the satisfaction to my dad. You can forget it." She passed out and Ibiki thought to himself "Man, Kakashi has one tough stubborn daughter." Kakashi appeared and saw Einjeru bloodied. He turned to Ibiki who said "I've tried everything including truth serum. She's something else Kakashi." Kakashi's mouth dropped as he looked at her, surprised that Ibiki didn't break her.

For a few days after that, Einjeru slept in her bed not being bothered. She recovered at a remarkable pace, and Kakashi gave up on trying to find his favorite book. He smiled at the fact that she was able to resist even Ibiki's tactics. He decided to make Ibiki Einjeru's tutor in the art of torture.

 _Presently_ :

After all the rules were explained, Einjeru grumbled at the fact that Naruto was going to fail this test without any assistance. Sakura and Sasuke can handle themselves. Next thing she heard was a dog whistle. She shook it off knowing what Kakashi was trying to do. She finished her test and closed her eyes to focus. She had to figure out some way to help Naruto. The Ino Shika Cho trio had no problems in figuring out the answers. Shikamaru was a genius and knew how to solve the problems. Ino was able to use her clans techniques to her and Choji's advantage.

Sasuke was using his sharingan to mimic the movement of another genins pencil. Sakura had a sharp mind even if it was fixated on Sasuke. Einjeru knew her mind was keen because of Kakashi teaching her how to look for the obvious answers. The Hyuugas were using their byakugan to search for the answers. The objective of the test was to cheat, but the last question would nullify all of the work.

The tenth and final question was whether or not they wanted to continue. The catch was that if you failed you'd remain a genin forever. Naruto had to put on his tough guy act and that got squad 7 through. Einjeru smirked knowing the double bluff training that she got. Ibiki looked to see how she looked mentally. Hearing about the first kill she had shocked him. He never let on that he was looking after her.

The next proctor burst in with a banner that said _Anko Mitarashi: The awesome proctor for the second exam._ Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. She said "The next exam will start in half an hour at training ground 44. If you're late, you're disqualified." Anko thought to herself "There's too many this time." Anko left and just before squad 7 got ready to head out, Ibiki held up Einjeru and said to her "I'm pretty sure that the next test will be a kill or be killed scroll hunt.I know I've taught you every torture technique in the book and beat you cruelly, but you need to be careful. Not only are your own village comrades your enemy, but you have people from other villages as well." Einjeru said "I assume my dad told you about the first kill and how rattled I was?"

Ibiki nodded and said "You actually have a high tolerance for pain whether you realize it or not. There's no doubt you'll pass, but be careful. This part's a message that I was supposed to deliver in case you ignored the dog whistle during the test: If you're able to, avoid spilling blood." Einjeru sighed and said "My dad warned me that genin die during this exam. He thought that it would at least get me to think about it. However the rest of my squad decided to take it and I decided not to hold them back. I already know he's listening. The chunin exam also tests a squads teamwork. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the training ground aka the forest of death before my squad gets disqualified. It's bad enough that Naruto thinks I adopted my father's tardiness streak."

At the 44th training ground, Naruto was saying "Where's Einjeru? I know she was with us." Einjeru appeared behind them "Sorry I got lost." She smiled sheepishly, and Naruto and Sakura yelled out "That's something Kakashi sensei says!" Einjeru giggled and said "Your reactions are priceless." Kakashi watching from a distance chuckled thinking "So she picked up on my cheap excuses." Anko appeared behind Naruto still mildly annoyed with him for stealing her dumplings and said "So you guys are the four man squad. Einjeru eyed her intently thinking "I hate snakes."

Anko then came over to Einjeru curious of how someone as small as her was going to be able to survive. She then noticed a cold aura coming from Einjeru. Anko put her kunai away and said "What's eating you small fry?" Einjeru's ability to read people's thoughts had been making her upset lately. Einjeru then said "I may be small, but I can still put the hurt on people. I'm not your average rookie genin." Naruto gulped and said "Someone's getting hurt today and it ain't going to be me. I like my best friend, but underestimate her too much and she goes nuts on someone."

A Hidden Grass ninja with an unusual tongue and neck came over and Einjeru thought again much more angrily "I hate snakes!" Sasuke sensed something was off and thought "What has her so unlike herself?" The Hidden Grass ninja faced Einjeru saying "Your killing intent is smothering the other rookies. You should tone it back some." Einjeru thought "I wouldn't be like this if I didn't have a foreign ninja and the exam proctor in my face!"

The anger in Einjeru was close to boiling over. Einjeru then thought "What if I went on a killing spree? Would that stop everyone from underestimating me?" Kakashi heard those thoughts and decided to intervene before the second exam began. He appeared behind Einjeru and puts his hands on her shoulders. Einjeru grumbled and said "Hi dad." He looks at her and says "I'm concerned for the safety of your squad-mates."

He hands her her journal and a pen. He disappears without saying another word. Einjeru knew what she had to do, but knew she didn't have time. Anko explained the rules behind the second exam. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke looked at Einjeru putting her journal in her bag. Einjeru looked at them and said "There are many reasons for this, but the primary one is mood swings." She was lying, but she couldn't say that the shock was getting to her. She's been masking her emotions.

After the rules were explained and the the four genin of squad 7 signed their waivers, they went to grab their scroll. They had the heaven scroll which meant that they had to go for earth. They went to gate number 7 thinking about that being their lucky number. As soon as the gates were open the genin went rushing in.

Einjeru revealed her ears and changed her eyes. Naruto starts complaining that he had to use the bathroom. Everyone groans thinking "You wait until now to say something Naruto?" Naruto rushes off to take care of his business. Not even three seconds later he comes back. Einjeru grins and decides to test him. Sasuke and Sakura look at her and she asks "So Naruto, what's my favorite ramen flavor?" Her two remaining squad-mates go wide-eyed thinking "Why would she be asking that?" Naruto says "Uhhmm, Pork?"

Einjeru got behind him saying "Wrong! Also your transformation is off. Naruto is right handed, yet the kunai and shuriken holster is on the left side." Sasuke and Sakura surround him respectively and Einjeru says "I have a proposition for you. Knowing for a fact that you would strike one of the weakest members in our squad alone means that you must have the scroll. You give up the scroll, you can go, but if not..." Einjeru decides to put the psychological and physical torture Ibiki gave her to us by saying "If not then you'll be forced to see a really horrible side of me. I said this at the first test; I've already had my hands blood-stained." The fake Naruto undid his transformation and pulled out his scroll.

Sasuke and Sakura looked in amazement as Einjeru worked her psychological skills on the guy. As soon as they saw the earth scroll, Einjeru grabbed it and said "Thanks a bunch. Now you can go." Sakura then said "How did you do that?" Einjeru smiled saying "When the head of of Torture and Interrogation tortures you and teaches you how to use that to your advantage, can you afford not to put it into practice?"

After putting both of the scrolls away, Einjeru said "We have a knucklehead to find." Sasuke and Sakura nodded. Einjeru's ear twitched as she heard Naruto's voice. She forced chakra into her nose to enhance her sense of smell further and told Sakura and Sasuke to be prepared for a trap. They got over to Naruto to see him tied up. Naruto smiled seeing the rest of his squad. Einjeru turned her hand to a claw and sliced the ropes that were holding him.

All of a sudden, the squad-mates of the genin that Einjeru made submit a few minutes prior appeared grinning. Einjeru grew more sadistic looking, leaving Naruto thinking to himself "What's up with Einjeru?" Sakura grew more terrified of her squad-mate. Sasuke says "Haven't you noticed Sakura? Naruto? When someone threatens someone close to her, her mindset changes." Einjeru smiled knowing that one of her teammates notices her behavioral ticks. Sasuke continues saying "Seeing Naruto tied up triggered the mindset change."

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Anko are watching from the trees, and Anko said to Kakashi "I don't remember you doing half of the things Einjeru and the rest of her squad did. Not to mention she used the type of torture Ibiki uses." Kakashi leisurely sits there saying "I had Ibiki train her in that respect. I've been teaching her the ninjutsu and taijutsu associated with our clan and Guy taught her the other taijutsu that she knows." Anko says "That makes her about jonin level in that respect then." Kakashi shakes his head and says "She has yet to learn elemental jutsu. To be considered a jonin you commonly have at least two chakra natures under your belt. Just the other day I discovered that her natural affinity is lightning."

Back at the fight, the two genin asked squad 7 what happened to their squad-mate. Einjeru smiled saying "You guys are weaklings." They look at her saying "Look at who's talking." Her smile got bigger as she explained that she talked their teammate into submission. Naruto asks Sasuke if she had really done that and they nod. Naruto's mouth dropped and the two genin scream out like little girls. Einjeru just stands there as the genin pass out.

The rest of the squad came up to her and said "Now what?" Einjeru goes into her wolf form and says "Hop on." They hop on her back and Einjeru takes off into the forest. Kakashi said to Anko "Her real skills have yet to be revealed." Anko nods saying "If I had a say so, I'd recommend the promotion." However the two of them weren't the only ones watching the genin squad. The long-necked ninja from before the test began was watching and thought "Those two from Kakashi's squad are just perfect."

Squad 7 made it to the tower and Einjeru told them to get off so she could revert back. She was uneasy because of the fact that they faced no opposition considering that they were close to the tower and chose the direct route. It had been a few hours since the exam started and night had fallen. They went in the tower and saw a board with symbols missing.

Sakura and Naruto started arguing about whether or not to open the scrolls. Sasuke and Einjeru took the scrolls respectively and opened them on the floor. The scrolls started smoking and everyone noticed it was a summoning jutsu. All of a sudden Iruka appeared. Naruto blurted out "Iruka sensei! What are you doing here?" Iruka smiled saying "My job. As a chunin I am to greet the genin that make it with both scrolls and explain the meaning of the board as well as knock out the genin that open the scrolls before having both and coming to the tower."

Einjeru says "Okay, so what does the board mean?" Iruka says "In simple terms, to be a chunin is to have a sound mind and strong body." Sasuke and Einjeru somewhat get the idea, and Sakura makes fun of Naruto who gets made fun of in return after being scolded by Iruka. Iruka ruffles all of their hair saying "You guys have a few more days until the second exam is over. Feel free to explore the castle." Iruka disappears for Kakashi to appear smiling.

Kakashi looks at his four genin and says "Congratulations for making it through the second exam. You guys will have some time to rest and eat, but I want to ask how it went from your perspective." Naruto starts off saying "I got ambushed when I was doing my business." Sasuke said "It was relatively easy with Einjeru doing the work." Sakura said "I barely did anything." Einjeru said "It was fun torturing other genin. That'll teach people to underestimate me."

Kakashi smiled knowing Einjeru didn't spill any blood or get frightened by her own actions. Einjeru felt a blaze of Killing Intent that wasn't her own, but she didn't let on. Sasuke then said "What are you doing here sensei?" Kakashi rubs his head and said "Can't I meet my students?" Einjeru thought to herself "It's more or less to check on me. He was watching us in the forest." Kakashi gives Einjeru a stern look, and she says "Journal. I know."

Einjeru sits against the wall and pulls out her journal. She writes in it and closes it to hear her stomach growling. She pulls a snack bar out of her bag and chows down on it. Naruto goes to her saying "So we made it, huh?" Einjeru nods and says "That was too easy. I'm not complaining, but there's something that isn't right." Naruto smiles and says "That's okay. I was hoping for some action, but I'm glad I can save my energy for the battles ahead." She pulls out another snack bar and hands it to Naruto.

Kakashi was watching this and was glad that Einjeru isn't pushing away her teammates. Einjeru however was trying to figure out how to control that mental switch she developed after the land of waves mission. The only one that knew about it was her shrink. Now the squad was figuring it out. Einjeru let out a low sigh and Kakashi appeared next to her saying "How long have you known?"

She leaned against the wall saying "Since the first shrink appointment. I didn't think it was going to get to that. I never thought I would resort to Ibiki's torture methods. The shrink has been helping me to tap into it and control it. I lose grip when put under duress or when my friends are being harmed. That's part of the reason I keep the journal." Kakashi sat next to her and said "I never did half of the stuff you did during my chunin exam. The behavior you displayed was of ANBU level. You need to get your mental switch under control." Einjeru looked down and Kakashi said "It's okay. You forgot I was an ANBU when I met you. I admit my mental switch isn't always there either."

Einjeru then says "How much longer until the second test ends?" Kakashi then said "You guys finished within the span of a few hours and the test lasts for five days. You guys have four days to wait." Einjeru sighed and said "Might as well do the homework that my shrink gave me. I mean the other homework." She goes into a meditative state and smirks.

Sakura and Sasuke were looking at her and asked Kakashi why she was meditating. Kakashi shrugged even though he knew the answer. Naruto sat next to her thinking it would be more peaceful just to meditate with her instead of trying to distract her. After a few hours Einjeru opened her eyes feeling refreshed. Einjeru decided to run around the tower for the remainder of the test. Kakashi looks at her thinking "Guy really has rubbed off on her. Well now's a better time to spend with her."

Kakashi decides to catch up with Einjeru and join her. She was making her way around the tower for the fifth time and Kakashi was behind her saying "Is there a particular reason you're doing this?" Einjeru smiles and says "Helps deal with stress when I have nothing to hit. Also in the words of Guy: My youth is shining brightly."

Kakashi chuckles and says "I'm glad I had him teaching you taijutsu. This next month will be consisting of some combined training. If all of the squad passes, I'll be teaching all of you some basics for the elemental jutsu. When we're alone I'll be strictly teaching you the chidori. Shall we continue the laps?" Einjeru nods and continues her running around.

Meanwhile a hidden sand group was spying around the tower seeing who else was around. There's a puppet master who was intrigued by Einjeru's actions, a girl with a fan who is wondering about the squad as a whole and an unstable boy who wants to challenge the strong to prove his worth. Sasuke felt the wave of Killing Intent and tenses. Naruto notices Sasuke tensing and goes to calm his teammate. Before he can do that, Sakura shoves him on the ground.

Naruto then thinks "Maybe Einjeru would appreciate someone knocking sense into Sakura that isn't her for a change." Kakashi appeared grabbing Naruto's arm and saying "What were you going to do?" Naruto chuckles nervously and says "Nothing." Einjeru appears and says "We were reading your thoughts Naruto. You were going to knock the daylights out of Sakura, weren't you?" Einjeru on the inside was grinning hoping that he would do it. On the outside Einjeru was as serious as Kakashi. Naruto then said "I was going to see what was up with Sasuke and Sakura shoves me out of the way without a second thought." Einjeru then says "If my hunch is correct, then Sasuke felt the wave of Killing Intent that I felt when we first got here."

Einjeru went up to Sakura and dragged her by the ear to the side while Naruto talks to Sasuke. Sakura glares at Einjeru saying "Why did you drag me away from Sasuke?" Einjeru for all intents and purposes wanted to knock Sakura out until the exam was over, but she applied what she learned at the shrink and took a deep breath. She then said to Sakura "Why did you shove your teammate for no reason?"

Sakura says "Because Naruto was going to annoy Sasuke." Einjeru decided to be truthful and said "If that's your mentality, you won't make it through this exam. Also, you didn't know what Naruto was going to do, so instead of assuming, you should observe first." Einjeru walked over to the other two leaving Sakura bewildered. Einjeru felt better that she expressed herself to Sakura in a way that didn't involve fists. She had to make a mental note to write that in her journal.

The days passed and the other genin teams started flocking in. Guy's squad came in thinking that they had beaten squad 7. Einjeru came up to them saying "Took you guys long enough. I've been here for a few days." Rock Lee starts crying and yelling out "Guy sensei! I failed you!" Einjeru backs off thinking "Where's Guy when you need him?" All of a sudden the Green-clad ninja appears saying to Lee "You guys need to work harder." Neji looks at Einjeru thinking "How did a bunch of rookies complete that in less than a day?" Einjeru disappears and Guy looks at Kakashi.

On the roof of the tower, Einjeru looked at the sky thinking about the next test. Kakashi and Guy came up next to her. Guy starts off saying "I'm impressed. Rock Lee is really determined because of you." Einjeru sighs and says "All I did was help my team finish the second test. I don't know what the big fuss is about. Also it seems Neji has a little bit of disdain in his eyes. It was like he hates everyone for a reason that everyone thinks is petty even though they don't know what it is." Kakashi then says "You have a tendency to overthink things. However I do sense that Neji is trying to figure out the mechanics of the squad."

Einjeru sighs and says "I'm nervous about Neji. It's like he wants to hurt everyone because of something that one person did to him." Guy then says "His attacks are lethal. I'd advise against going against him." Einjeru shook her head and said "I hope I don't have to." Guy smiles and says "I'm looking forward to the next round though." Einjeru went back to cloud watching.

Downstairs, Sasuke and Naruto are walking around scoping out the competition. Sakura stood around moping because Sasuke wouldn't pay her any attention. Guy's squad was doing the same thing as Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto bumps into Lee and says "So? How is being a student under Guy?" Lee smiles and says "It is wonderful! I really want to face off against Einjeru though. She has trained under Guy sensei longer than I have." Naruto nods and says "So what do you think about the terms genius and failure?"

Lee starts off saying "Let me guess Naruto, you were called the failure while Sasuke and Einjeru are hailed as geniuses?" Naruto nods and says "Even though Einjeru helps me and I've trained with her on many occasions, I still got called a failure. Einjeru never sees me that way, but I feel like I'm dragging her down." Lee then says "You have the drive, but it seems that you lack the help you need. Einjeru is still learning herself as are the rest of us. In my case, I just want to put my skills to the test." Naruto nods and says "I wish you luck." Lee nods and goes to wander around.

Sasuke walks into Neji and remains quiet. Neji then says "The Uchiha remnant. Who would've guessed that you'd be put on the squad with some of the top ranking genin as well as the last place one." Sasuke already knew he was talking about Naruto and said "You shouldn't underestimate your opponents. It can lead to your defeat." Neji glares at him for saying something like that. He then proceeds to saying "What about Hatake?" Sasuke then says "She was the top ranking kunoichi in our class, yet everyone underestimates her for her size. You should've seen her in the forest. You'd have to see it to believe it." Neji then says "You guys made it without a scratch. May I ask how that's possible?"

Sasuke shrugs and says "It takes a prodigy to know how to make it through a forest with no scratches. Also we had a little bit of luck on our end." Neji looks and says "There's no way you guys made it through the forest in mere hours without a me!" Einjeru appeared saying "If I told you I'd have to kill you." Neji glares at Einjeru saying "There's no way you did that." Einjeru says "Being trained by elite jonin in my academy days helped me a lot." Neji then said "How did you get here so fast?" Einjeru shook her head saying "I can't tell you that Neji. It runs within my family, just like the secrets of the byakugan run in your clan."

Neji looks with disdain and Einjeru thought to herself "And I thought Sasuke was stuck up." Sasuke then says "Then why'd you tell us?" Einjeru says "As a squad we need to know each others strengths and weaknesses. You never reveal your aces to your enemy." Neji had already walked off and Kakashi appeared saying that the test was almost over and that they needed to regroup with the squad.

After the squad met up, Einjeru gave them each a snack bar so they'd be ready for anything. She then ate one herself. The sound for the end of the exam went off. All of the rookie genin from the hidden leaf made it. All of the jonin that had teams that made it stood with Lord Third corresponding to how the squads were lined up. There were seven squads for a total of 22 participants left.

Squad 7 stood proud with Einjeru in front, Naruto behind her, Sasuke behind him and Sakura behind Sasuke. Lord Third then said to the genin that were left that there were to be preliminaries to trim down the numbers even more. All of the genin except squad 7 and the Hidden Sand trio were like 'Give me a break!' Lord Third gave the genin a chance to drop out before the preliminaries were to begin. Kabuto and an unknown genin from the hidden leaf dropped out leaving 20 left.

Lord Third then started off saying "I congratulate those who have made it through the second exam. Unfortunately there are too many of you to go into the third rounds. In order to trim the numbers we'll be holding preliminary matches immediately." A sickly proctor appears and says "Please let me explain the rules sir." Lord Third nods and the proctor says "The rules for the preliminaries are just like the actual third rounds. You guys will fight until I declare the match to be over, or the opponent yields or dies. If you continue to fight after I declared the match over you'll be disqualified. The board over at the top will randomly pick two opponents and the rest will watch the match from the platforms."

The board started running through the names and the outcome was unexpected. Einjeru's mouth dropped and she thought "Just my luck. I have to go first." The names read Einjeru Hatake and Kiku Madoka. Kakashi pats Einjeru on the back saying "Good luck." He then whispers in her ear "Save your wolf style for the third rounds." Einjeru nods saying "Got you sensei." Kakashi went to join the rest of squad 7 and Einjeru faces her opponent.


	6. Chapter 6

Preliminaries

Einjeru looked at her opponent thinking "I shouldn't take her lightly. I see myself in her." Kiku said "Funny, you remind me of myself." Einjeru gulped and said "I was thinking the same thing." The proctor looked at them and said "Start!" Einjeru pulled a kunai out and Kiku stood there. Kiku then said "You know, being small has it's perks. Like this." Kiku appears behind Einjeru who turns with a slash.

Einjeru got Kiku on the cheek and thought to herself "Now what is that girl doing?" Kiku rubbed the blood from her cheek and said "That hurt." Flower pedals rained down and Einjeru realized that she was in a genjutsu. She put her hands together in a seal and said "Release!" Just as Einjeru comes out of it Kiku was in Einjeru's blind spot and knocked her across the room.

After being knocked into the wall, Einjeru shook herself and thought "Alright, no more nice girl." She pulled out the White Light Chakra Saber and put some chakra into her step. Before Kiku had a chance to react, Einjeru slashed her across the chest and knocked her into the wall. Einjeru blew her hair out of her face and said "Thank you Ibiki for teaching me about my high tolerance for pain. I can use it to my advantage." She shook the blood off of her weapon and sheathed it.

On the platform, Naruto was being loud about cheering Einjeru on. Sasuke smirked at how Einjeru was being in action and Sakura was watching in fear. Kakashi put his hands on his students shoulders and watching as Einjeru grew before his eyes. He thought to himself "She'll become a chunin no doubt."

Kiku came out the wall saying "How are you that strong?" Einjeru replied "I can ask the same thing. Looks like we've underestimated each other." They charged at each other and went for a taijutsu bout. Einjeru thought to herself "We're evenly matched. I could use numbers against her." She jumped back and made the hand sign for the shadow clone jutsu. There were five of Einjeru now. The original and the clones charged in and went for a combination attack that normally caused the victim to be unconscious.

Over in Guy's squad, Neji was looking at the spectacle with his byakugan and said "How is this possible? I can't distinguish the clones from the original." Guy then said "One of the perks of the shadow clone jutsu. The chakra is split into equal parts so said clones can also perform jutsu as well. Kakashi must have taught it to her in place of the regular clones." Meanwhile Kakashi gives an eye-smile and waves at Guy. Guy gives a thumbs-up.

Rock Lee was watching intently for any flaws in her moves and says "Guy sensei? She doesn't know any of the forbidden taijutsu, does she?" Guy shook his head saying "Her father would have my head if that was the case." Lee then said "It wouldn't be fair to use that on her then." Guy was shocked that Rock Lee was even considering that. Kakashi overhearing the conversation walked over to them and said "By next month she'll have new jutsu in her arsenal. Just because taijutsu is her strong point now and is her primary way of fighting, it doesn't mean that she can't surprise you."

Back on the competition floor, Kiku was barely standing after Einjeru's combination attack using the clones. Kiku then says "How long have you been training in fighting like this?" Einjeru indulged the question by saying "Four years." Kiku was surprised and said "You can't be more than 13 right now." Einjeru nodded and said "I'm 12 for now. My birthday is next month." Kiku holding herself up from all of the high-impact kicks that she was given said "Funny I'm just a few years older than you. I'm 16."

Einjeru looked in amazement saying "I wouldn't have guessed. You can pull off being 12 quite well." Kiku said "I appreciate the complement." Einjeru then nods and asks if she can continue. Kiku shakes her head and says "My ribs are shattered from the blows to the wall and your combination attacks just now." She coughs up blood and Einjeru rushes over to her. Despite being from another village, Kiku knew how to accept her defeats with grace. Einjeru smiles saying "It was a good match. I hope one of these upcoming exams you'll become a chunin." Kiku nods and says "No worries. Just make it through." Einjeru smiles and stands up to see what the proctor says.

The proctor asks if Kiku can continue before he makes the ruling. Kiku shakes her head and the proctor says "Due to her opponents inability to continue, the winner is: Einjeru Hatake." Einjeru walks upstairs to her squad and the medical team comes to rush Kiku to the medical bay for treatment. Einjeru watches and thinks "I wish you the best Kiku."

Upon getting up to the platform, Einjeru gets rushed by Naruto, and says "What'd you think I was going to do? Die?" Naruto laughs and says "Are you kidding?" Kakashi comes over and says "Well, you made it to the final rounds. How do you feel?" Her stomach growls and she thinks to herself "Hungry." She pulls a snack bar from her bag and says "I'm going to need more snack bars soon." Kakashi nods and everyone looks to see who the next matchup is.

The board starts randomizing the names and the next matchup was Sakura and Ino. Einjeru thinks to herself "A battle of the fangirls. Great. I just hope Sakura took my words of wisdom to heart." Sakura heads down and Ino says "Leave it your squad-mate to make the hidden leaf look like a bunch of chumps." Einjeru upon hearing that balled up her fist. Sakura then said "Einjeru fought with honor. She didn't beat her opponent when she was down. That's not how the hidden leaf works."

Ino then says "You'd protect your enemy?" Sakura shakes her head saying "She didn't just... Never mind. You insulted my team. Not to mention Sasuke is mine." Ino then said "Who said he was yours billboard brow?" Einjeru then yelled out "Stop the damn arguing before I come down there and stop it myself! My god you're giving me a headache." The proctor signals for them to begin.

Naruto says to Kakashi "What is the way of the hidden leaf?" Kakashi replies "We complete our missions by any means. It doesn't mean that you dishonor yourself by hitting your opponent when they're down. If we have to, we kill. Einjeru only does it when necessary. She has a compassionate side." Einjeru then said "That girl was 16. I could've continued, but there was no point. I shattered most of her ribs and rendered her just able to breathe. If we were on a mission, it would be different, but this is an exam and the proctors also want to see our self control." Kakashi nods saying "Which is why they have the rule of stopping after the proctor calls the match." They then focus their attention on the two fangirls.

Sakura and Ino were matching each other blow for blow. Ino is thinking to herself "This is impossible. The only one who should be able to top me is Einjeru. Sakura may be able to match me blow for blow, but it won't be enough." Einjeru reading Ino's thoughts figured out a way to give Sakura the upper hand. Einjeru pulled a Naruto by blurting out "Sakura! Ino underestimates you! Remember what I said to you about underestimating your opponent!" Sakura grins and grabs Ino's incoming fist.

Ino looked in shock. Sakura grinned as she put her other hand on Ino's and started to spin her around. After gaining enough momentum, Sakura threw Ino. She used a clone jutsu and charged her. She threw kunai and shuriken galore. Ino gets up and does her best to block it. Sakura then gets into Ino's blind spot and knocked her to the floor. Sakura starts feeling accomplished until Ino gets up and faces her with a weird gleam in her eye.

Einjeru sees this and says "Ino thinks she has an ace in the hole. I hate to say this, but there are flaws in her plan. If Sakura moves from the spot that she's aiming for, this match is completely over. Sakura will use Ino's unconsciousness to her advantage and beat the mess out of her." She walks over to Choji and Shikamaru saying "You know your teammate's crazy right?" They nod and said "Since the first squad meeting we've known. You portrayed an excellent match and was very polite to your opponent." Einjeru nods and says "A shinobi must be able to show proper conduct on and off duty."

Shikamaru then says "That's true. I was worried you were actually going to kill mercilessly." Einjeru shook her head and said "You should've seen me at the land of waves. I was distraught after that. Luckily you guys and my dad and shrink have been helping me through. They said the best way to get over the kill and move on is to honor the person in some way." They nod and said "Oh no! Ino is really going to do it!" Asuma then blurts out "Ino you idiot!" Einjeru faces the fight and sees that Sakura is trapped with chakra infused rope made from Ino's hair.

On the battle floor, Sakura is thinking to herself "Damn it! The only thing to do is bend forward." Ino casts the jutsu and narrowly misses. Sakura notices the chakra rope letting up and starts to move. She starts off saying "Sorry Ino. That was bad planning on your part." She walks over to Ino and lies her straight saying "I'm not protecting my enemy, I'm protecting my honor." Sakura then faces the proctor saying that Ino will be unconscious for a few minutes. The proctor called the match, declaring Sakura the winner.

Sakura came back up to the squad and Naruto went on about how awesome she was during the match. Einjeru walked over and said "You fought a fair match. You know if we go against each other in the final rounds, I won't be going easy on you." Sakura smiles and says "I wouldn't have it any other way." Sasuke smiles at the ploy. As squad 7 celebrated another one of their own making it to the finals, the board started to randomize the names.

The next two names were an unknown leaf genin and Kankuro from the sand. The two of them got down there and Einjeru said "This match is as good as over." The genin ask why and Einjeru explains her keen sense of smell. She then says "The one guy with the bandaged item on his back is actually a puppet with hidden poisoned weapons. The real guy is hiding in the bandages while the puppet takes the blunt of the attack. The smell of poison coming from the puppet is overwhelming to say the least."

Down on the battle floor, the hidden leaf guy was warning Kankuro to give up. Kankuro was saying the same thing and the proctor signaled for them to begin. After hearing Einjeru's analysis, all of the genin of the hidden leaf thought that their comrade was as good as toast. The genin was wrapped all over Kankuro and thought he had the match in the bag until the head snapped. The puppet then revealed and the puppet master appeared out of the bandages.

Everyone face-palmed at the now obvious ploy. The puppet then extended its arms and revealed some hidden blades. It then proceeded to squeezing the life out of the guy. The proctor then decided that it was over and Kankuro the winner. Kakashi said "Looks like you called it Einjeru. How did you know that the weapons were poisoned?" Einjeru said "My sense of smell was already heightened. However while we were still in the forest, I upped it some more by forcing chakra into my nose, but I can't seem to stop the flow."

Kakashi then said "You need to work on your chakra control more if that's the case." Einjeru just said "It's okay. I guess I'll have to start wearing a mask to filter the smells for now." Kakashi chuckles and says "Now you're really starting to become like me." Einjeru sighs at Kakashi's antics and says "You're hiding your face for a whole other reason dad."

Meanwhile the board randomizes the names and the two that come up are the two Hyuggas. Einjeru cringed at that sight. Naruto thinks to himself "One of us will face him in the finals. It's just a question of who." Einjeru thought back to that conversation between her, Guy and Kakashi. She looks at Kakashi and says "I'm really nervous about this match dad. It seems like Neji has it in for Hinata." Kakashi says "You might be right."

On the main floor, Neji is pressing for Hinata to give up. He keeps going on about fate. Einjeru bit her lip so hard it bled. The words were so harsh that it cut her like butter. She excused herself to go to the restroom so no one would see what she was about to do. Naruto thought to himself "Why did she leave?" He follows the sound of her footsteps to the restrooms. Outside he hears crying. Kakashi comes up behind Naruto and says "Is there a reason you followed?" Naruto waves his hands frantically and says "I'm worried. Why is she crying?"

Kakashi kneels down to Naruto's level and says "Neji... He's known for his bitterness as Einjeru is known for her sweetness and compassion. His words cut through Einjeru and she's noticed behaviors during the wait at the tower after they arrived." Sakura came up behind and said "Why are you two at the girls room?" She then heard the crying and understood. She goes in and Einjeru notices the door open and shut.

Her crying died down to a whimper as Sakura knocked. Einjeru then said "What is it Sakura?" Sakura then said "I'm aware of why you're upset. Neji's words have only gotten harsher since you left the room. I think he's doing it to get a rise out of everyone." Einjeru grumbled and said "That guy. He has no idea how anyone has lived. So who is he to determine what fate has in store for someone. I know one thing, I'm no genius, but I'm not a failure either. There's no doubt I have my share of bitter feelings, but I hold them back or release them based on the situation."

Sakura then says "I've seen." Einjeru says "No. You haven't. There's no way for anyone to see what I hide. I can keep most stuff hidden from my dad with no problems until someone catches me." Sakura then says "Come on. At least watch to see who wins." Einjeru comes out rubbing her eyes. Both her and Sakura come out of the bathroom wondering why Kakashi and Naruto were just sitting there. Einjeru rolls her eyes in disgust.

They walk back to the platform and see Neji striking Hinata's heart. Einjeru grew wide-eyed and as Neji tried to continue his attack, the jonin sensei jumped in. Guy said "You weren't going to involve your grudge in this. You told me that." Neji grumbles and says "So, you're going to stick up for the head family as well." Einjeru balled up her fist and wanted to give Neji what for. Hinata coughed up, and Naruto, Einjeru, Kiba and Shino rushed over to her.

Upon getting to her , Hinata coughed up again. Einjeru put her ear to Hinata's heart. She jerked her head up in shock. They called Kurenai over and she identified Hinata as having a ventricle fib. Kiba looked at Neji in disdain. Einjeru's hand twitched. Shino then said "There's no point in fighting right now. It's not going to help Hinata." Naruto then said "That jerk. I hope I get to fight him in the third round just so I can pummel his so called fate into the ground. I vow to win."

They all headed back upstairs and the sensei joined their enraged students. Neji smiles smugly which caused him to have less people to side with him. Squads 7 and 8 were not happy with him. The remainder of Guy's squad looked at the others and sensed the animosity. Rock Lee went over to Einjeru and said "How do you feel about this?" She jerked her head to him and said "I feel that your teammate is a jerk! Someone needs to knock some sense into him!" Kakashi put his hand on Einjeru's shoulder to calm her down. Her breathing went back to normal and she realized that she snapped at Lee for no reason. Lee didn't mind about the snap because he knew that she was being honest.

The board started randomizing names again and Naruto was going up against Kiba. Naruto and Kiba decided to give it their all because of Hinata. The proctor said to begin and Naruto used the shadow clones as a distraction. Kiba was running through the clones and the real one lays a haymaker on him. Einjeru grinned when he used that move. Naruto grabbed Akamaru and pinned him while the clones were busy beating Kiba to a pulp.

All of sudden Kiba gave Akamaru a food pill which caused him to turn red. Naruto dropped him and dispelled the clones so he could see the two of them. All of a sudden Akamaru turned into Kiba and they started using fang over fang. Naruto then used a transformation to throw them off. Einjeru said "That idiot. The Inuzuka clan has a higher sense of smell than I do. They can tell the difference in smells between them." However, Kiba made the mistake of knocking out Akamaru. Einjeru grew wide-eyed and Kiba went for the other one for that one to be Akamaru as well.

The next thing anyone knew, one of the Akamarus disappeared and Naruto appeared giving Kiba a right hook. Naruto made some more clones knocking Kiba into the air. Kakashi looks and says to Einjeru "He must have been paying close attention during your match. He's matching you move for move." Einjeru nods saying "Yeah, I'll have to talk to him about stealing people's moves." When Naruto slammed Kiba to the ground, he was discovered to be unconscious. The proctor called the match in Naruto's favor, and Kiba and Akamaru were taken for treatment.

Naruto came up to be punched by Einjeru. He rubbed his cheek saying "What'd I do?" Kakashi chuckled and said "It pays to have original moves. Not ones that you borrowed from your teammate." Naruto then said "Oh! She's mad that I used the moves she used." Einjeru grabbed her wrist and said "Do that again and I swear I won't spare you." Naruto cowered in fear as the board randomized the names.

The next two names were Gaara and Yoroi Akado. The wave of Killing Intent flared and Einjeru said "The other guy is going to lose." Naruto looks and says "What's up with the glum outlook?" Einjeru then replies "You'll see when the match begins." The two of them got down to the battle floor and proctor said to begin. Chakra was visible in Yoroi's hand and Sasuke says "Does anyone understand why the chakra in that guy's hand is visible."

Kakashi and the other sensei couldn't answer for sure. Kakashi mustered up a guess by saying "If I had to guess, it's either a secret technique or forbidden." Everyone watched as Yoroi tried to get close to Gaara to no avail. Gaara's sand started coming out of his gourd and Einjeru said "Once that sand touches Yoroi, it's over." The sand kept coming out of the gourd and getting closer to Yoroi.

The sand got to Yoroi and covered him completely. Gaara raised his hand to an unknown sign and called out "Sand Coffin." Upon squeezing his hand shut, the sand crushed Yoroi. Yoroi then dropped to the ground causing everyone to cringe in some way. Einjeru finally came to the conclusion that Gaara wasn't a normal human being. Naruto saw Einjeru lost in thought and said "Hey! You okay?" Einjeru shook herself and said "That guy is not normal."

The board started randomizing the names again and Temari and Tenten popped up. They came downstairs and the proctor said to begin. Tenten being a weapons specialist started off by throwing some kunai. Team Guy looked in astonishment as she missed. Rock Lee said "Tenten never misses." Guy then said "I know. She must have been forced to miss, but how?"

Temari said "If that's all you got, you may as well give up now." Einjeru looks closely at the fan behind Temari's back. There was one purple mark showing. Temari then said "By the time I get to the third one, your time is up." Einjeru then said "That's how Tenten missed. It's the fan and Temari being able to use wind style to deflect Tentens attacks." Rock Lee and Guy look at her and said "Are you sure?" Einjeru nods saying "That's the only way I can think of it." Tenten meanwhile is trying to think of a way to bypass Temari's fan. She decides on the Twin Dragon Control which failed ultimately.

After using her two weapons scrolls, Tenten decides to charge head on and gets the blunt of Temari's Wind Cyclone. Everyone looked in shock after Tenten landed on Temari's fan the way she did. Temari flung her off and Rock Lee caught her. Einjeru cringed slightly. Naruto says "Ninja from other villages are cruel." Kakashi then said "Be wary or you might end up dead Naruto." Einjeru then said "In ANBU there's only one absolute and that's the mission. If you're ordered to kill someone, even if they're your best friend, you do it."

It remained deadly quiet as the board randomized the names. This time it was Choji versus Shikamaru. Einjeru's eyes bugged out of her head when she saw that matchup. Naruto then said "Man that's messed up. Even when they were made to spar in the academy, they never did." Einjeru then said "Come on! Shikamaru's going to forfeit. This is a pointless match. He's not going to want to fight his best friend like this." Shikamaru says "I forfeit!" Einjeru gestures saying "See?" Kakashi said "Calm down." The proctor made the decision and said "Due to forfeit the winner is Choji Akimichi."

The board randomized the names again, and the matchup this time was Sasuke and Shino. Sasuke thinks to himself "Finally." Einjeru said to him "Good luck. Don't lose to him." Naruto says "Same here. I want to fight you." Sakura then says "Good luck Sasuke." Kakashi was relieved to see his last genin going through the preliminaries. Sasuke goes downstairs and awaits Shino. He comes down and the proctor says to begin.

Shino brings out his bugs, disgusting everyone on the viewing platforms. Einjeru then says "He's from the Aburame clan isn't he?" Kakashi nods saying "It doesn't make it anymore comfortable to look at." Sasuke turns on his Sharingan to take a look. Sasuke then says "This is going to be tricky." he starts on the offensive using the fireball jutsu. Shino dodges and starts sending his bugs. Sasuke avoids them and forces Shino on the defensive in a taijutsu bout.

On the viewing platform, most of the shinobi were trying to keep their weak constitutions upon seeing the bugs. Einjeru then looks closely trying to see how Shino fights. She then says "It seems that Shino's weak point is taijutsu. Sasuke is overpowering him." Kakashi looks saying "I can see that, but the problem that Sasuke will have if he doesn't stop trying to pound Shino is the bugs that are about to ambush him."

Sasuke is laying hit upon hit on Shino not letting up on his attack. As soon as Sasuke knocks Shino on his behind, he jumps to the wall and weaves signs for a fire style jutsu. After he's done, Sasuke calls out "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." Within the fireballs there were shuriken. Einjeru saw the taking the blunt of the fireballs. Shino remarks on how adept Sasuke was and Sasuke is trying to bypass the bugs.

Shino tries to go on the offensive, and Sasuke goes defensive trying to figure out how to wear him down. However Sasuke is finding himself getting more tired. Einjeru groaned saying "Each hit he takes, the more those bugs siphon off his chakra." Sasuke pulls a kunai and starts slashing. The bugs started falling and forcing Shino on the defensive again.

Kakashi looks at the scene and thinks "The Aburame are skilled in their use of insects." Einjeru keeps looking at the fight and thinks "Their analytical skills are off the chart. I wouldn't be surprised if this match came to a standstill." However Shino lands on the floor. Everyone's eyes widened as Shino wasn't able to get up. Sasuke was standing over him thinking "That really costed me the last little bit of chakra that I had. I'm surprised that I'm still standing." The proctor called the match in Sasuke's favor.

Sasuke returned to the squad and everyone was high-5'ing each other for making it to the finals. Einjeru grins knowing that the whole squad would be getting some combined attention. Everyone turns to the screen the final matchup. It's Rock Lee versus Kenta Kohaku.

They meet on the floor and Rock Lee looks at Einjeru thinking "I really want to face her in the final rounds. I must win here." Kenta says "Your strength is in taijutsu right?" Rock Lee gives a questioning look. Kenta continues saying "I'm glad I'm able to fight someone like me." Lee then says "You can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu either?" Kenta shakes his head. Rock Lee says "I'm honored." The proctor starts the match and they charge at each other with high impact kicks.

Rock Lee in his determination tries to use the lotus. Einjeru's eyes widened and she said "Isn't that a forbidden taijutsu?!" Kakashi nods and looks at Guy with a little concern and disdain in his eye. Guy came over and said "It's because of his inability to use ninjutsu and genjutsu that I gave him that ace in the hole." Einjeru wanted to punch Guy for Kakashi. She lashed out at him saying "How could you teach him that?! If you wouldn't teach it to me, why would you teach it to him?!"

Guy saw the hurt in Einjeru's eyes because of the fact that he'd been training her longer. Einjeru sniffled and said "I already know my dad would've had a cow about it, but still you'd teach it to Lee. That could effectively end his shinobi career! How is he supposed to keep up his end of the bargain if he can't do it anymore? There's a reason it's forbidden!" Kakashi put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down, but he even knew that this was beyond trying to calm her down.

Back at the battle, Rock Lee was just able to stand let alone defend against Kenta. Everyone was watching in anticipation. Kenta had a few broken ribs and his right leg was broken. Lee was in almost the same condition. Kenta was about to lay another hit on Lee until he collapsed and smiled. The proctor looks at Kenta and determined him unable to continue. He declared Lee the winner and the preliminaries over.

Einjeru, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Lee, Neji, Choji, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari all came down to main floor for instructions about the third rounds. Einjeru looked at Lord Third who explained the premise of the chunin exams. He says "Yes it's a means of determining who should become a chunin, but it's also a war deterrent. It's a means of maintaining balance between our allied nations."

Gaara then says "Enough with the history lesson old man. Just explain the meaning behind the finals." Einjeru then says "You should demonstrate respect to someone who's known as the god of shinobi." Gaara then says "How would you know that?" Einjeru then smirks saying "It pays to pay attention to shinobi history. Lord Third hokage is someone that you don't want to cross. Not to mention, you're in his home village surrounded by all who serve under him. You're outnumbered don't you forget." Gaara remained quiet after that.

Lord Third then said "Anko will come around with box of 10 slips of paper. Each of you will take a slip and we'll go from there." Anko went down the line starting with Einjeru. As soon as Temari got the last slip, Anko told them to read off their numbers. Einjeru then called out " I got three." Naruto said "I got one." Sakura got five, Sasuke got nine, Lee got four, Neji got two, Choji got seven, Gaara got ten, Kankuro got eight and Temari got six.

As soon as the sorted the matchup out, the proctors showed them the board and said "The matchups are as followed." They ran down the list and everyone listened intently. They were:

Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyugga

Einjeru Hatake vs. Rock Lee

Sakura Haruno vs. Temari

Choji Akimichi vs. Kankuro

Sasuke Uchiha vs. Gaara

After looking at the brackets, Rock Lee asks "With the way this is laid out; does this mean that only one of us will become a chunin?" Lord Third chuckles and says "Quite the contrary. All of you could be promoted or none of you can be promoted. You're being watched by feudal lords and people that can request missions. This will be your chance to show off your strengths. Not only are you representing your squad, but your village and nation."

Einjeru then says "It's simple Lee. Not only are we being graded by the kage that attend and our proctors, but the people who are betting on us as well." Lee then says "Oh! I get it now!" Einjeru sweat-dropped and thought "I'm definitely going to have to work on Taijutsu for the finals." Lord Third then says "In order to make this fair and send out all of the invitations; the finals will be held one month from today. Congratulations to you all!"

Everyone started to part ways and squad 7 decided to eat in celebration. Kakashi came up to them and said "Because the whole squad made it, I'll treat you guys to whatever you want." Naruto grinned in delight, but Einjeru, Sakura and Sasuke wanted barbecue. Naruto deflated and said "But why?" Einjeru said "Ramen is my favorite food, but I need a break from eating it. Just because we went five days without it doesn't mean we can't live. Besides barbecue is a good source of protein and vegetables." Naruto gives in knowing that he won't win an argument with her.

At the barbecue restaurant, Sasuke says "Has anyone been able to identify the source of the killing intent that was in the tower?" Einjeru said "If I had to guess, it was coming from that Gaara guy." Naruto says "The only killing intent that I'm able to sense is Einjeru's." Sakura then says "Einjeru's killing intent is mild to what we had felt." Einjeru nods saying "Sakura's right. My killing intent is like a puppy's compared to the wave we felt." Kakashi says "Your opponents are lethal. Especially yours; Naruto and Sasuke. Since you all got into the final rounds I'll be working with you guys together as well as individually and assigning some stuff for you guys to do on your own. There's no room for lacking here." They all nod and Naruto says "So what will we be working on sensei?"

Kakashi says "I'll tell you guys tomorrow at training ground 7. Meet there at dawn." They nod and finish their food. Later on after the rest of the squad leaves, Kakashi tells Einjeru to drag him to the training grounds for the training. Einjeru nods and says "Oh no doubt. We all need it and can't afford for any time to be wasted. We do need to get home if we intend to get any sleep."

They head to the apartment and hear a girlish giggle. Kakashi looks at Einjeru and she said "That definitely wasn't me." She pulls a kunai and moves cautiously with Kakashi behind her. She gets closer to the giggling and hears "Boy Kakashi, you have a pretty daughter." Kakashi gets a weird look on his face and nods to Einjeru. She sneaks in and gets behind the person with a kunai to their throat.

Einjeru says "One move and I'll slice. Now what are you doing here in my room?" The person says "I was wondering when you'd get here. Where's your father?" Einjeru says "Who are you?" The person says "Let me go and I'll tell you." Einjeru withdraws her kunai and gives him the floor.

He starts off saying "From the ranges of Mount Myoboku to right here in the hidden leaf. The sage who strikes fear into the hearts of men and makes the ladies swoon. I am the gallant Jiriaya." Einjeru's mouth drops and Kakashi comes in saying "Now that you scarred her for life with that spiel, may I ask what you're doing here master Jiriaya?" Einjeru then says "Can you do it in a room that isn't my bedroom? I'm tired." Kakashi and Jiriaya move to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Jiriaya starts off saying "You're doing well for a jonin sensei, you brat." Kakashi shakes his head saying "Being Einjeru's father and sensei helps out a lot. Something tells me that you're not here for idle conversation. I do have to meet my squad early." Jiriaya then says "I want to take Naruto under my wing." Kakashi looks at him wide-eyed and says "You'll be fighting with Einjeru for that right."

Jiriaya replies "That brat! I've beaten kids like her before breakfast." Kakashi shakes his head and says "She's closer to Naruto than most. I don't think you want to cross her when it comes to him." Jiriaya then says "What were you going to teach them?" Kakashi said "I was going to introduce them to elemental jutsu for their affinity." Jiriaya then said "I was going to teach him how to use the nine-tails chakra and how to summon toads." Kakashi then says "I don't see why we don't collaborate. Naruto is able to use the shadow clones to their full effect. Now that I think about it, I could be teaching Einjeru how to summon the ninken."

Jiriaya smiles and says "You already figured out what Einjeru's nature is already, didn't you?" Kakashi nods and says "She's a chip off the old block. She's got the lightning nature." Jiriaya smiles and says "Well Naruto is going to be an enigma." Kakashi then says "Why don't you observe your godson in action tomorrow?" Jiriaya smirks and says "Is this a challenge brat?" Kakashi nods smugly and laughs saying "He and Einjeru are close knit and push each other to work harder."

Jiriaya replied "I'll just have to see how close-knit they are." Kakashi then says "I need to get some sleep." Jiriaya nods and says "Which training ground?" Kakashi smiles and says "Seventh." Kakashi goes to bed and Jiriaya lets himself out.

The next morning, Einjeru drags Kakashi to the training grounds as he requested. Jiriaya was hidden in the trees and the Hatake duo waited for the rest of squad 7 to get there. Naruto was the first and he was rubbing his eyes to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. He then says "No way! Kakashi sensei's actually on time today." Sasuke and Sakura soon followed having similar reactions.

Kakashi started off giving a lecture about the elemental chakra which Einjeru dumbed down for Naruto. Kakashi then handed three of them slips of paper and told them to let their chakra flow through it. Sakura's paper got wet, Sasuke's crinkled and Naruto's split. Kakashi faced the four of them and said "Two of you have lightning, one has water and the other has wind. Einjeru and Sasuke I'll be able to help the most. Sakura and Naruto: water and wind aren't my strong points but I can help you guys make your elemental chakra stronger."

Jiriaya smiled thinking "These guys are the perfect combination squad. Water and fire enhances the lightning attacks. Wind accents water and fire attacks." Kakashi then said to Naruto "To start off changing your nature, you'll be cutting a leaf using only your chakra. The best thing to speed up progress in your case is to use shadow clones." He then says to Sakura "For you since your chakra control is perfect, you just have to visualize the flow of water within yourself." Kakashi proceeds to make two shadow clones to monitor Naruto and Sakura, so he can focus on the two lightning natured students.

Kakashi says to them "The lightning nature allows for you to paralyze or potentially electrocute someone in battle. To make the nature stronger you need to increase the vibrations of your own chakra. After that visualize an electrical current." Einjeru asks "How do you increase the vibration of your own chakra?" Kakashi smiles and says "You're my kid. Figure it out." Einjeru thought to herself "Oh I'd love to figure it out while I'm shoving my foot up your behind dad."

Meanwhile Jiriaya is laughing in the tree thinking "I should've known he was going to leave her to her own devices." Einjeru sits and meditates. A few moments later, the wind was blowing and clouds were circulating. Einjeru bares her teeth and lightning starts erupting from her. Sasuke was doing the same thing. Kakashi was silently observing them.

Einjeru opens her eyes to shock herself. She howled in pain thinking "Ouch! That hurt so freaking bad." As the lightning receded, so did Einjeru's pain. She made some chakra flow to her hand and saw an electrical spark. She grins thinking about an awesome prank to pull on Naruto and Sakura. She decided to sneak over to Sakura. Kakashi's clone looks intently and thinks "What is that girl doing?"

Einjeru holds her hand up and lightning sparks from her fingertips. She then touches the water slightly, shocking Sakura. Einjeru fell on her butt laughing just to abruptly stop when Kakashi and his clone appeared in front of her. She chuckles nervously and Kakashi grabs her by the collar. Sakura came out of the water furious. Einjeru apologized and Jiriaya comes out laughing and saying "Naruto's going to love this." Kakashi gives a look that says "Don't encourage this."

Naruto in the meanwhile was struggling to cut the leaf. One of the clones asked if there was another wind style user in the village. Kakashi's clones says that the only other one that he knows of is Asuma. He sighs because of the fact that he caught on that his main self and the other clone had to stop Einjeru from committing a lightning enhanced prank.

Jiriaya appears behind Naruto holding the pictures of Einjeru's prank. He puts them in front of Naruto and says "Someone out-pranked you Naruto. I thought you were the king of pranks." Naruto turns around saying "Pervy-sage! I was wondering when you were going to visit!" Kakashi's clone walks over to him and asks about that nickname.

Naruto looks through the pictures and laughs his behind off. He then says "For every king there's a queen." Kakashi then says "Maybe I should ground her from hanging out with you and make the only time she sees you is when we go out for missions and training." Jiriaya says "You've become a bad influence on her if she can pull off a prank like this." Naruto then begs Kakashi to not do that.

Back over with Einjeru, Kakashi was using his lightning chakra to ensure she didn't move. "This stinks." She says. Sakura chuckles saying "This suits you Einjeru." Kakashi then says "Now you understand why you shouldn't go pranking people with lightning chakra. It can be used against you." Einjeru huffs and Sasuke comes along zapping Sakura. Kakashi's clone started to do the same thing to Sasuke as he did for Einjeru.

Naruto rejoined them and saw Einjeru in one of her fits. Both her and Sasuke were partially paralyzed from the surge of lightning chakra. Naruto said "I found out how to cut the leaf." Kakashi nods and says "Well you guys have started getting to make your elemental chakras stronger. I entrust you guys will do your best when you're not working with me one on one or working together, and not pranking someone." That last part was directed at Einjeru who was sheepishly looking at the grass.

After the squad splits and Kakashi stops his flow of the lightning chakra through Einjeru, he starts off saying "Because your lightning chakra is still being warmed up, I'm not going straight into chidori, but I'll teach you another technique that can help you in case your sense of smell fails. It's called the summoning technique." Einjeru who was still trying to regain feeling asks "How would it help me when my nose fails?" Kakashi smiles behind his mask and says "It will be better to show you."

He cuts his finger revealing a sliver of blood and runs through some hand signs calling out the summoning jutsu. A brown pug with a hidden leaf headband and a vest with heno heno moheji on its back appears. It starts off saying "What's up?" Kakashi smiles and says "Recognize her?" The pug looks at Einjeru and smells her saying "This isn't the little girl that you'd summon me to watch." Einjeru waves saying "Pakkun? Right?" Pakkun nods and says "What'd you summon me for Kakashi?" He smiles again and says "I'm teaching Einjeru to summon."

Pakkun gives a toothy smile and says "You're in luck. We have a new litter of pups. One of them will probably imprint on her and follow her. I'd have to reverse summon her back, but first I have to bring the summoning contract here. Summon me back in five minutes." Kakashi nods and Pakkun disappears.

Five minutes later, Kakashi summons Pakkun back. He has a giant scroll on his back. Pakkun faces Einjeru saying "Sign your name in blood and put your fingerprints below it." Einjeru bit her finger and drew blood, doing exactly as she was told. After she finished, Pakkun said "Hang on." Next thing anyone knew, Einjeru disappeared. Pakkun said "She'll be back with a pup that she'll be able to name."

Meanwhile, Einjeru lands in the area where all of the ninken summons live. Pakkun appears behind her saying "You've grown so much. Makes me feel so old." Einjeru smiled and said "Aw come on Pakkun. You're not that old." Pakkun smiles and says "Follow me. The nursery is this way." Einjeru followed and looked around. Biscuit comes to Pakkun saying "New summoner?" Pakkun nods and says "Guess who she is."

Biscuit looks at her and says "This isn't the brat that Kakashi summoned us to keep an eye after, is she?" Pakkun nods and says "She's really lucky that she's learning how to do this now. The new litter of pups is ready to be trained." They get to the nursery and Einjeru sees the pups. Pakkun says "These guys are a whirlwind of trouble. Be careful." Einjeru smiles at the pups and cautiously approaches them.

The pups look at her and come up to her with toothy smiles. There was a runt of the litter whose color scheme was the opposite of Einjeru's wolf form. A little gray pup with black tips and paws. Einjeru came up to her and she barked excitedly. Einjeru held her hands out and the pup jumped into them. She faces Pakkun and says "She's the one." Pakkun smiled saying "I should've known you would go for the runt of the litter." Einjeru replies "Size isn't everything." Pakkun nods saying "You have free reign of naming her. They haven't been named yet, and it will be a great bonding experience."

Pakkun and Einjeru returned to the training field having left Einjeru enough time to think of a name for her. Kakashi sees the little gray bundle in Einjeru's hand and says "So what are you going to call her?" Einjeru smiled saying "Shiruba." Kakashi says "As in the color Silver?" Einjeru nods. Pakkun says "Not a bad name." The pup raised her head and Einjeru said "Shiruba?" The pup licked Einjeru's face and everyone acknowledged the name.

Pakkun then takes Shiruba back to their origin space. Kakashi says "In about a month that pup will be full grown and ready to take your commands. You are lucky." Einjeru then says "So ninken are different than normal dogs?" Kakashi nods and says "Shiruba might talk as well. The ninken are smarter, have a higher sense of smell and are much faster than normal average dogs."

Einjeru then says "That's good and all, but how will that help me in battle?" Kakashi said "You were paying attention when Naruto was fighting Kiba, right?" Einjeru nods and says "It was used against him though." Kakashi then said "The summoning ninken can be used in collaborative attacks as well." Einjeru smiles and falls into Kakashi. He notices her legs looking like jelly and said "Maybe I forced too much lightning chakra into you." Einjeru smiled and said "Looks like you're stuck carrying me dad."

This same camaraderie and harsh training happened for a month. Jiriaya and Kakashi would decide on combined training days sporadically. Naruto was trying to tap into his vast reserves and learn the summoning jutsu. Einjeru would practice the hand signs some days and Kakashi would ask Pakkun if it's safe for Einjeru to summon Shiruba yet. Days when Einjeru wasn't practicing her summoning signs or the chidori, she was training in her wolf style.

Sasuke was looking at basic lightning jutsu and Sakura was looking at basic water style jutsu. Naruto would try looking for basic wind jutsu when he wasn't being harassed by Jiriaya on how to avoid Neji's gentle fist blows. The week before the final rounds, the squad met as a whole to see how much everyone progressed.


	7. Chapter 7

Repressed Emotions Released

It's a week before the finals, and squad 7 has been hard at work. Naruto was working harder because he had double the work. Einjeru almost has the chidori down to a science. Sasuke and Sakura have some basic jutsu for their element. They decided to meet up one last time before the finals to do a progress check.

Jiriaya and Kakashi meet up at a dumpling shop prior to the meeting. Jiriaya starts off by saying "Naruto's using the shadow clones effectively. He can pull off the summoning jutsu no problem. His evasion tactics need work considering that he's going against Neji. How's Einjeru's progress?" Kakashi shrugs saying "Can't complain. She's been using the shadow clones to her limit learning the chidori, and her taijutsu should pull her through against Rock Lee."

Jiriaya nods saying "These Sand ninja are an enigma. Especially the one they call Gaara. He seemed a little off center according to Naruto." Kakashi said "The whole squad was on edge during and after the preliminaries because of his killing intent." Jiriaya nods and looks at the time saying "It's time to meet them."

At the training ground, Einjeru was leaning up against the logs, and no one else had shown up yet. She says to herself "I wonder what would happen if I did decide to be late like my dad." She then casted the thought from her mind. She stood up and stretched a little bit before seeing Naruto come. He looks at her and says "No wonder why no one answered. No one was home."

Einjeru smiled saying "I wanted to get here early. It's a hassle waiting for you guys though." Naruto laughs saying "No that's Kakashi sensei." They both laughed until Sakura showed up in a foul mood. Naruto looks at Sakura thinking "What's bugging her?" Sakura comes up to Einjeru saying "You ruined my dream!" Einjeru gets confused and says "May I ask how?"

Sakura starts off on her 'I love Sasuke' rant and said that Sasuke said that he had a crush on Einjeru. Einjeru widened her eyes at that ludicrous statement. Einjeru laughs and says to Sakura "You must be hearing things girl. No way in heaven or earth will Sasuke ever say those things." Sasuke comes into the training grounds with a smug look on his face and says "Actually I did."

Einjeru's eyes literally bugged out of her head when she heard that. However that made Sakura even more angry. Naruto grumbles thinking "Why the hell is Sasuke playing with Sakura's heart strings? Also, why is he trying to put the moves on Einjeru?" Einjeru decided to nip this in the bud right there and then saying "Sasuke, I don't like you in that manner. I consider you to be a close friend and comrade, but any more than that and it would be just weird."

Sakura hearing this calmed down enough to try and woo Sasuke over. Sasuke wasn't having it though. Kakashi finally appeared when a fight was about to break out among them. Einjeru went back to sitting against the log. She sighed thinking "What did I do to deserve this?" Kakashi looked at her thinking "Her honesty has won her some brownie points with Sasuke, but worsened her flame with Sakura. Naruto and Einjeru are almost cool no matter the circumstances."

Naruto then said "So what's up sensei?" Kakashi coming out of his long drawn out thought said "I just want to see how far you guys got before the finals next week." Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Einjeru look at him thinking he's crazy. Kakashi smiles and says "Come on." Einjeru then said "We'd be revealing our aces to each other and therefore giving ourselves a way to counter if we do face off."

Kakashi laughs saying "You guys are smart, but you won't be able to come up with countermoves for your opponent in only a week. Not even I can do that. The outcome is never certain." Sasuke shrugs thinking that there isn't anything to lose. Einjeru looked at Kakashi with uncertainty. Kakashi then said "Show them Einjeru." She gulped thinking "I swear to god if Sasuke copies this, I'm coming after you dad."

She weaves the signs and lightning appears in her right hand. The sound of birds chirping fills the air. Sakura covers her ears and says "What is that jutsu?" Guy appears after hearing the sound and wondering where it was coming from. He then says "That would be Kakashi's signature move. The chakra is so powerful that it's visible and sounds like a flock of birds. I'd never imagine he'd teach it to Einjeru so soon."

All of them look at Kakashi incredulously, and they got in reply "It was never labelled as forbidden, besides Einjeru has the ability to discern what her opponent will do next and has the speed to counter if necessary." Einjeru looks at Kakashi saying "Why would Guy be concerned about this?"

Guy fronted this by saying "High-level moves like that consume a lot of chakra. You can't use them in rapid succession." Einjeru retorts saying "Yet you taught a forbidden taijutsu to a fourteen year old." Guy retorts saying "We talked about this almost a month ago. Can't we let it go being as youthful as we are?" Einjeru retorts saying "Rock Lee has had to go to the hospital repeatedly. He might not even be able to compete." She released the chidori and faced Guy with a disgusted look on her face.

Kakashi then says "Now's not the time for arguing." Einjeru sighed and said "The more I talk about Lee, the less I want to go through our match. I wish I could summon Shiruba." Naruto hears this and says "Who's Shiruba?" Einjeru explains the summoning pact that she made with the ninken. She sighs and says "That's the progress I made this month."

Jiriaya watching from a tree thinks to himself "For a feisty kid, she sure is moody. I don't blame her though. She's in a tough spot. She has to deal with her ninja way and living up to expectations as the daughter of the copy ninja. Not to mention, her opponent is already injured giving her the advantage. I wouldn't want a handicap like that. I'd want to fight an opponent at their best."

Back over with the others, Sasuke shows off his newly acquired lightning style and Sakura with her water style. Naruto attempted to do his summoning, but summoned a young toad due to his inability to mould enough chakra. The young toad had an attitude that made Naruto want to change summoning animals. Kakashi nudges Einjeru saying "Show him." Einjeru rebuts saying "We don't even know if she can be summoned yet." Kakashi then says "If not Pakkun will appear. Just do it."

Einjeru runs through the signs for the summoning. Pakkun and Shiruba appeared. Pakkun looked at Einjeru saying "You must have been reading my mind." Naruto looks at the two ninja hounds and Einjeru saying "How can you summon two?!" Einjeru shrugs and says "My dad can summon eight of them including Pakkun. Shiruba will be my primary. Pakkun normally reports to my dad, but he's training Shiruba and the other trainees." Shiruba speaks saying "It's been a while." Einjeru looked at her saying "It has, and the last time I saw you, you were a small bundle licking my cheek."

Pakkun then says "For the runt of the litter she grew the most." Einjeru smiled saying "Like I said, size isn't everything." Shiruba growls annoyed saying "When are you going to stop referring to me as the runt of the litter?" Einjeru backed off and Kakashi says "She's perfect for you. You guys share a similar personality." Einjeru glared at him saying "I'm the youngest. It's expected that I'm the smallest. However I make up for that in speed and strength." Kakashi smiles and Shiruba comes over saying "Don't worry. You'll grow before you know it."

Einjeru's eye widened at the wisdom shown by her summon. Einjeru then says "Thanks Shiruba. I'm pretty sure you want to get going." Shiruba shook her head and said "You wouldn't mind if I stuck around, do you?" Einjeru shook her head and Naruto comes over saying "So this is Shiruba?" Einjeru nods and says "Yup, my beautiful summon." Shiruba sniffed his hand and Naruto gets nervous. Kakashi smiles saying "That's how a dog acquaints itself with a stranger."

Shiruba looks at Einjeru who's hanging back while Naruto is understanding the concept behind the ninken. Jiriaya thinks to himself "That idiot. He doesn't seem to understand the concept behind putting enough chakra into his summoning. However, it doesn't take that much chakra to summon a dog as opposed to a giant toad." He appears in front of the squad and bops Naruto.

Everyone has mixed feelings behind that and Naruto yells out "Pervy sage! Why'd you hit me?!" Einjeru looks and sees Naruto holding his head. Jiriaya then says "Look at your teammate. She summoned two ninja hounds for as much chakra you used to call the young toad here. What sense does that make?!" Sasuke and Sakura look at the debacle with a smile on their faces. Kakashi then said "Maybe it's time for them to go back to their respective homes."

Pakkun then says "Kakashi's right." Einjeru nods and waves them off. The young toad also dispersed. Jiriaya finished scolding Naruto, and Einjeru wanted to pull her wolf ears off. Sasuke then says "You trained for a month in a useless jutsu? Wow you're such an idiot." Sakura agrees and Einjeru punched the both of them saying "Summoning an animal isn't useless! You need to train a little bit more before you can utilize it in battle. I'm pretty sure that wasn't all Naruto was doing in the span of almost a month, so before you go saying that, you need to listen to him."

Kakashi then said "In Naruto's case, he needed to work on his speed and trying to use his wind chakra." Einjeru then said "In mine and Sasuke's case we have an affinity that is weak to Naruto's wind chakra." Naruto clapped his hands together and said "I have one wind jutsu under my belt." A powerful gust of wind blew, knocking everyone off of their feet. Einjeru's hair flapped in her face as she thought "Maybe it's not such a good idea to underestimate him."

Sasuke decided to test Einjeru's earlier statement by using a lightning style technique. He weaved the signs and discs started to appear. Einjeru's eyes widened as she saw who he was aiming for. Kakashi stood in front of Sasuke saying "Were you aiming for Naruto?" Einjeru stood in front of Naruto, happy that he learned an awesome wind jutsu, but concerned that Sasuke would aim at him with a lightning jutsu.

Kakashi dismissed the squad and kept Sasuke. Naruto and Einjeru go to Ichiraku and Einjeru decided to challenge him to a ramen eating contest. Sakura stuck close to the training ground. Jiriaya watched Naruto and Einjeru from a distance. Naruto smiled as he managed to get through his 10th bowl. Einjeru grinned as she got through her 11th bowl. Naruto said "That jutsu, it was called the gale palm." Einjeru smiled and said "It should give you an edge. Watch yourself around Sasuke. My first feelings from the first squad meeting are starting to come to light." Naruto smiles saying "Don't worry. It'll take more than the likes of Sasuke to kill me." Einjeru blushes and looks down.

Jiriaya notices the action and thinks "Is she starting to think of him as more than just a friend? I wonder what Kakashi would say." Naruto looks at Einjeru and says "You're turning red. Are you okay?" Einjeru blushed even more and said "I'm perfectly fine." Teuchi turned around and noticed Einjeru's face. Einjeru took a look at the time and says "I have to get going. I'll pay you back later Naruto." Teuchi smiled and said "It's on the house Naruto. She's looking at you in a different way than before."

Back at the training ground, Kakashi was giving Sasuke a lecture about his teammates. Einjeru came in with the blush still on her face. Sakura noticing this pulled Einjeru to the side. She started off saying "I thought you didn't like Sasuke in that manner." Einjeru gives a confused look and says "I don't. What are you talking about?" Sakura pulled out a mirror and Einjeru saw her reflection. She looked down and said to Sakura "I guess my blush never came down from when I was Ichiraku with Naruto." Sakura thinks to herself "Who did she see?"

Kakashi sensed Einjeru near by and thought "So it's happened huh?" He dismissed Sasuke. Einjeru noticed this and went up to Kakashi who was ready to say something. Sakura was watching and Einjeru yelled out "Go home Sakura!" As soon as Sakura left, Kakashi said to Einjeru "Let's take a walk. I have some things to tell and show you."

They walk around the village and Kakashi brings up the incident of when he first found her. Einjeru nods and says "What does that joke have to do with now?" Kakashi chuckled and said "Your views have changed. You're still blushing even though you left him 20 minutes ago. So still want to say that you don't have a crush on Naruto?" Einjeru looked down and said "I guess our friendship evolved into something else in my mind."

Kakashi smiles and says "Your 13th birthday is tomorrow. I'd be surprised if that part of you didn't kick in soon." Einjeru looked at him and he continued saying "I've known that you couldn't hold it in much longer. All those years of repressed blushes add up. Also, you've always stood up for him and stay close to him." Einjeru looked down and said "At first I looked at him like a brother that annoyed me, but now... I can't look at him without a smile or a blush." Kakashi shakes his head and can't help but to smile at his naive daughter.

Jiriaya appears and says "It was only a matter of time brat!" Einjeru wanted to growl at Jiriaya for intruding on personal time, but she knew he was right. However she didn't want to be lectured on love by the king of perverts. Kakashi then said "Master Jiriaya would know about wooing a woman. However, Einjeru needs to understand a few things first." Jiriaya pokes Einjeru's cheeks, and she snarled at him.

Kakashi grabbed her by the collar and said "Her cheeks are mighty sensitive." Jiriaya looks and says "I can see that by the look of her canines." Kakashi chuckled and Einjeru finally settled. He handed her a mask and said "Unless you want to draw attention to yourself because of your cheeks, put this on." Einjeru was reluctant, but it was better than trying to chew the toad sage's behind.

She put it on and Kakashi let her go. Jiriaya then says "How old is the brat?" Kakashi smiles saying "She'll be turning 13 tomorrow. She's still naive and cautious around you, so I'm not worried in that respect." Einjeru then said "Didn't you have something to show me?" Kakashi put his head to the back of his head and said "Yes, I do." Jiriaya then said "Ah don't worry about it. If anything, Naruto will be oblivious to those emotions for a few years yet."

Einjeru looks down and Jiriaya disappears. Kakashi then says "Come here. I'm going to show you something that very few people have seen." Kakashi started to blush and it was noticeable with his mask on. Einjeru looks in anticipation as Kakashi said "The last time my mask was removed... was the last time I was alone with your mom." Einjeru got a weird picture in her head and thought "Curse you Jiriaya." Kakashi pulled down his mask and Einjeru looked thinking "Well hot damn! My father's hot!"

Kakashi smiled at the reaction he got saying "Well at least you get to see the mystery behind my mask. Don't tell Ibiki. He might try to torture you into telling." Einjeru laughs and says "No worries dad." Kakashi pulled up his mask and Einjeru says "I have something to brag to Naruto about!" Kakashi shakes his head and says "Consider that your birthday present from me." Einjeru smiled and said "Okay."

The next day Einjeru just lied in bed. She felt weird. Kakashi came in the room and walked right back out. Einjeru was confused until she looked at herself thoroughly. She went 20 shades of red, and said "Errm... Dad? I think there might be something wrong." Kakashi who was trying to think of a way to tell her to not draw the wrong attention from boys and taking care of his nosebleed/scolding himself for looking at his daughter the way he did said "There's nothing wrong. You're just developing faster than normal."

Einjeru tried to find something to cover herself in, but all she could think about was Naruto and what he'd think. She turned red again and Kakashi handed her one of his shirts. "Man, this is awkward" Einjeru said. Jiriaya passes by and found his eyes glued. Einjeru cut the excess from the shirt so it would fit her better. She came out her room and Kakashi still recoiling from his nosebleed said "You look just like your mother."

Later on, Einjeru found herself getting some black form-fitting shirts similar to Kakashi's. She then found some silver straps for the white light chakra saber. She smirked, and found some purple pants that hugged her properly and allowed for proper movement. Guy bumped into her not realizing who she was and apologized profusely. Einjeru smiled and said "It's okay Guy." He looked and said "Einjeru?" She nods and says "It looks like I had a growth spurt overnight."

Einjeru finished her shopping and before she was to head back to the apartment, Guy grabbed her saying "I know it's your birthday today. You're not going home before I give you something." Einjeru didn't want to be rude, but she told Kakashi she'd be coming right back after she got her new clothes. She followed Guy hoping that it would be quick.

She ended up getting dragged all over the hidden leaf. The last stop was Lee's house. He came out saying "Guy sensei, who's the girl?" Einjeru wanted to chew the next person who asked that. Guy explained how he bumped into Einjeru. Lee then said "It's your birthday today?!" Einjeru nods reluctantly. Lee extends a happy birthday and smiles. Guy then says "Take a close look at him Einjeru." She looks at Lee's right foot, leg and arm. Her mouth dropped and she said "He's healed."

Guy smiles saying "That's my present to you. Showing you that Lee is ready for your battle." Einjeru smiled and said "I'm looking forward to our match next week." Lee gave a thumbs-up. Einjeru rushed back to the apartment after that and Kakashi stood there saying "Kidnapped by Guy?" Einjeru nods and says "Every year it never fails."

She went to her room to change into her new clothes and get a proper opinion. She came out with new clothes on, her hair tied back, her headband around her forehead, her bangs framing her face, and the white light chakra saber strapped to her back. Kakashi looks at her and says "You chose well. You look older than you are. Maybe your opponents will actually take you seriously." Jiriaya comes in saying "Wow, she looks great Kakashi!" Kakashi said "I don't care if you are one of the sannin. You make the wrong move and I will hurt you." Jiriaya recoils and Einjeru laughs saying "Wow dad, I didn't know you could be so menacing."

Meanwhile at the Uchiha compound, Sasuke looked at the room where he saw his parents murdered before his eyes. He balled up his fist and said with a hiss "I will get you Itachi. I swear it!" A snake happened along, but it wasn't a regular snake. He weaves his signs and the lightning built up in his hands. The snake used this moment to bite him. A mark appeared on the back of Sasuke's neck and he screamed out in pain. The ANBU assigned to watch the abandoned compound reported it and rushed Sasuke to the hospital.

Lord Third gave swift orders for Sasuke to be kept under close guard and to summon Kakashi. At the apartment, Jiriaya says "There's something going on." An ANBU appears saying "Kakashi, Lord Third has requested your presence at the hidden leaf hospital." Einjeru's eye widened and Jiriaya told her to head over to Naruto's apartment. "This is a great way to spend my birthday." Einjeru thought heading out.

At Naruto's apartment, Einjeru stood at the door with her mask on hiding her non-stop blush. As soon as she knocked, Naruto answered saying "Who are you?" Einjeru pulled her mask down and pulled it back up. Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head as he recognized Einjeru. She asks to come in and Naruto stood to the side. That same snake was lingering around waiting for Einjeru to be alone.

Naruto heads to the bathroom and Einjeru sits there enjoying the peace. The snake comes out and lunges for Einjeru. She revealed her canines and yelled out "I hate snakes!" She bit the snake, and grabbed a kunai out and chopped off the head. A voice started speaking saying "You're quick to react, and smart about killing it. I'm starting to consider about whether or not Sasuke was logical."

Einjeru was panting saying "Not in this lifetime, you snake!" A man finally appeared with snake-like eyes and pale skin. He smiles and says "Very little respect for someone who's been taught to respect higher ranking ninja." Einjeru "It doesn't apply to a S-Ranked missing ninja, Orochimaru." He smiled and said "So you do know who I am." Einjeru glared at him and lightning surged.

Orochimaru disappeared saying "I have a message for you to deliver to the Third. Tell him not to pull Sasuke out of the finals. The hidden leaf wouldn't like the outcome." Einjeru growled and thought "Should I do it?" She bit her thumb and Naruto came in the room saying "Are you okay?" Einjeru shook herself out of it and said "I've got to find my father. I apologize for the mess. I'll clean it later, but now we have a problem." Einjeru ran for the hospital.

At the hospital, Sasuke is in the ICU. Kakashi and Lord Third were discussing the situation. Outside Jiriaya was trying to get a peek at the hot springs and notices Einjeru running towards the hospital. He appears in front her asking what's going on. She ran through the spiel with him and he said "You did the right thing in coming to report this, but you left Naruto by himself." Einjeru looked down and said "I didn't mean to, but..." Jiriaya cut her off saying "It's okay. He can take care of himself. We do need to report to the third."

Jiriaya and Einjeru appeared in front of Kakashi and Lord Third. Lord Third then says "There better be a good reason for this breach." Einjeru then said "He came after me as well. He also gave me message to deliver about Sasuke. He said if we pull him out of the finals, the hidden leaf won't like the outcome." Lord Third bit his pipe thinking "What would have to gain from going after Einjeru. He's going after the most gifted in the village." Kakashi then said "You weren't bitten were you?" Einjeru then said "It'll be a cold day in the underworld before I get bitten by that snake."

Lord Third then said "As insurance, I'll have the ANBU guarding you. They'll be close enough, but not to the point where they'll interfere in your daily affairs." Einjeru sighed and said "This isn't the way I wanted to spend my birthday." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and said "I'll make it up to you." Einjeru shrugged it off and said "Things will be better when we get that cursed snake and kill him."

Einjeru headed out the hospital, and Kakashi requested that Tenzo be put on the guard. Meanwhile, Tenzo was getting back to the village after an assassination mission. He goes to Lord Thirds office to find that he's at the hospital. He gets to the hospital and Lord Third runs through what happened. Tenzo debriefs about the assassination and goes to change into a clean uniform.

Einjeru is at the training grounds trying to clear her head. Tenzo appears behind her and says "You should be at home." Einjeru turned around saying "Let me guess, you're on the guard detail?" He nods and says "So you're the kid that Kakashi senpai makes a fuss about." Einjeru sighs and turns around in a frustrated fashion. Tenzo removes his ANBU mask and says "My name is Tenzo." Einjeru looks at him and says "I'm Einjeru. I thought ANBU weren't supposed to take their masks off."

Tenzo smiled and said "This is a different case. Your father and I used to be in the same squad together. He requested that I be put on the squad to watch you." Einjeru shrugged and said "I come to the training grounds to clear my head." Tenzo then says "Would you mind if I put your skills to the test?" Einjeru shrugs and says "Sure, it's not everyday that an ANBU Black Ops. ninja asks to test a genins skills."

They stand in an open part of the training ground. Einjeru says to him "Any restrictions?" Tenzo said "Come at me with everything you have." Einjeru decides to start off with some taijutsu. She comes in close ready to land some hits. Tenzo thinks "She's fast. Let's see how strong she is." She shoots her fist for his face. He blocks and thinks "The force behind her hits is high. To think that she's only a genin. I'd swear she was a high level chunin with her speed alone."

She catches him off guard with a kick to his face. Tenzo stumbles and rubs his face. Einjeru looks at him grinning. Tenzo says "For a genin, you put a lot of force into your hits." Einjeru says "You've seen nothing yet!" She makes some shadow clones and surrounds him. Tenzo looks in amazement and thinks "This kid's brimming with talent. No wonder Orochimaru would come after her." The clones charge at him simultaneously.

Tenzo then uses the wood style to restrain them. The clones popped and Einjeru destroys the wood using chidori. Tenzo puts his hands up saying "So you know your father's signature move huh?" Einjeru releases it nodding. Tenzo smiles saying "You're basically a mini him." Einjeru gets a weird look on her face and says "But I'm a girl." Tenzo chuckles and says "I know. You have his demeanor." She gets into her lazy stance and says "But I'm not late for every meeting and reading those books by that demented pervert."

Tenzo laughs and says "It's getting late." Einjeru nods and Tenzo puts his mask on saying "We're to stay near, but not to interfere unless necessary." Einjeru nods and runs out of the training field to the apartment. Just before she gets to the apartment, Einjeru feels an ominous wind. She stops and looks around. She puts her hand on the chakra saber and says "Who's there?" She reveals her ears and her eyes change.

Orochimaru appears and says "You really are something else to be able to sense me by just a blow of the wind." Einjeru scoffs and says "What do you want, you pedophiliac of a snake?" Orochimaru comes closer and Einjeru draws her sword. He says "You still lack respect." Einjeru then said "What'd I tell you earlier. It doesn't apply to S-Ranked missing ninja." Her eyes honed over the area. She spotted the ANBU assigned to watch her and Orochimaru says "I assume you delivered the message?" She growled at him and said "I'll do anything to protect my home and friends. Even if it means following a request from someone we're supposed to kill on sight."

He then raised his fingers and three shinobi surrounded Einjeru on all sides. The ANBU tensed and got ready to strike. Orochimaru came closer and said "Consider this a test. These guys will attack you. If you defeat them, you can go. If not, then you're a good test subject." Einjeru growled knowing that she was between a rock and a hard place. She growled thinking about whether or not she should flip her mental switch from shy and innocent to cold and heartless killer.

Orochimaru looks at her smiling and says "You're a lot like Kabuto. You think things through." Einjeru then says "I'm flipping my switch. There's no way I'm going to survive if I don't." As soon as her switch flipped, her eyes changed, and she made a stern stab to her right. The blood splattered on her and the other two jumped from her. The ANBU watched in shock as a normal genin would be shocked after seeing blood for the first time.

Tenzo kept a focused eye on her thinking "She has the eyes of an experienced killer, or someone who's had tons of experience." Einjeru looked at them and said "Well, it feels like the second round of the chunin exams, except this is for real, and if I'm not mistaken, talking and using psychological torture won't get me anywhere." She slashed the white light chakra saber unleashing the white chakra from within.

The other two ninja were contemplating and Einjeru got behind them slicing their jugulars with a kunai. She huffed and said "You'll have to try harder than that. Now if you'll excuse me." She started to walk and the ANBU landed behind her to ensure that Orochimaru didn't attempt anything with her back turned. She got home and her mental switch flipped back to shy and innocent.

Kakashi looked at her walking in and said "You better have been forced into that fight." Einjeru said "I was surrounded on all sides and I flipped my mental switch." Tenzo appeared and said "It's true. Although I never seen that look in the eyes of a genin. It's like she killed before." Kakashi gestured to Einjeru. She started off saying "I did on our first mission outside the village. I was in total shock. Before the exams started I was seeing a shrink. I also discovered that I have a mental switch that allows me to work efficiently and keep my compassionate side. When my switch is flipped, there's no stopping me until my objective is complete. In this case it was defeating the opponents and ensuring my survival. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to clean up and take care of the blood before it sets in." She walks out of the room.

Tenzo then says "She'll have no problem making chunin." Kakashi nods and says "I've taught her the dark side of being a shinobi. Half of her embraces it. It concerns me though." Tenzo then says "If it wasn't for my sparring with her earlier I'd be concerned too. Against a friend she tries to avoid using lethal moves. She used the chidori as an escape tactic." Kakashi nods and says "How is she?" Tenzo replied "I'd guess as far as strength goes, she'd be a high chunin. Her jutsu is up there in the A-Rank with the shadow clones and chidori. Her planning was something I never assessed."

Meanwhile, Einjeru was in the shower thinking about what happened. She thinks to herself "Why is it that he's after Sasuke and me? No one outside of Squad 7, Iruka sensei and Lord Third know about the Hatake blood-trait." She rinses off the blood that splattered on her and and scrubbed her hair. She comes out and puts her pajamas on. She smiles looking at the dog print. She comes out of the bathroom and Kakashi sees his happy healthy daughter.

Kakashi looks at her and Tenzo says "Kakashi, you take overprotective daddy to a new level." Einjeru smiles and says "I'm kind of glad he's like this at times. He's there when I need him... most times." Kakashi gets a complacent look on his face and says "Well there will be a time where I won't be here. By that time, I will have hoped you're standing on your own." Einjeru looked at him and looked back down. She goes to her room.

Tenzo lets himself out and continues to watch Einjeru from a distance. He chuckles and thinks "Even though I just met her, I've grown attached." Einjeru slept the night away.

The next day, Einjeru woke up and smiled. She decided to gather up the squad for a day of hanging out if Sasuke was able to be discharged. She got dressed and found a note in the kitchen. "Einjeru, When you read this, report to the hospital." Einjeru sighed and rushed to the hospital.

As soon as she got there, the ANBU appeared behind her. She came inside and saw Kakashi. She cleared her throat and Kakashi said "We might have to cancel the final rounds all together. However Lord Third feels that after the hard work that you guys have put in to get ready, he'll give you guys a special test." Einjeru shrugged and said "Why would you tell me in the hospital?" Lord Third appeared and said "Your test is Sasuke. You're to guard him. This would be about a A-Rank for a jonin, but I'd figure to challenge you."

Einjeru groaned inwardly and thinks "There goes my plans for the day." She then says "I accept the task." Lord Third smiles and hands her a paper saying "You're going to need this to get past the ANBU guarding him." Einjeru nods and heads up to the ICU.

At the doors to Sasuke's room, the ANBU asked Einjeru to state her business and she handed them the paper. They stood to the side and she walked in. Sasuke was lying in the middle of the room. Einjeru knelt down next to him. She thought to herself "He was bitten by the same snake that I killed." A voice echoed saying "Sasuke will seek me out." Einjeru shook her head and said "No way. Not if I can help it."

There was thud outside the door. Einjeru hid and watched from where she was. The silver-haired genin from the first test came in. Einjeru kept her vigil until she saw his kunai. She stood behind him and said "What you're doing is very close to treason." He smirked and said "Well, you had to be exceptionally skilled or just plain lucky to avoid Lord Orochimaru's bite." Einjeru said "You must be exceptionally stupid to break into a guarded Intensive Care room."

The ninja laughed saying "I'm the chief of the medical corps. son. I should say the same of you." Einjeru chuckled and said "Under orders from the hokage to be here. You're not." The ninja then said "I forgot to tell you my name Einjeru. My name is Kabuto." Einjeru said "What do you hope to accomplish by being here Kabuto? Depending on the answer, I may have to take care of business right here." Kabuto laughs and says "You're just a rookie genin."

Einjeru flipped her switch and said "Yeah I am, but I'm a rookie genin with a lot of power." Kabuto smirked and said "It won't be enough. You hold Sasuke's life in your hands right?" Einjeru was behind him holding a kunai to his jugular saying "Want to restate that?" A sadistic grin came across her face. Kabuto thought to himself "Is this girl a genin? She sounds too experienced to be a rookie." Einjeru who was reading his thoughts said "Thanks for the complement."

Kabuto gulped and used the dead soul jutsu. Einjeru turned around and faced her clone. One of the dead ANBU came in and Einjeru immediately got on the defensive. Kabuto then says "For a brat, you're quite smart." Einjeru then said "ANBU aren't stupid enough to break protocol. They're not to come in the room unless instructed." Kabuto crashed through the window saying "Another time." Einjeru and her clone ran to the window and saw he was gone.

After the whole ordeal, Einjeru sent out a distress howl. Within a few minutes, Kakashi arrived and noticed the dead ANBU and broken window. Einjeru slumped and said "Flipping the switch takes a lot out of me." Kakashi said "Who was skilled enough to get past the ANBU outside?" Einjeru said "You're not going to believe this, but it was Kabuto Yakushi." Kakashi looked at her and said "Are you sure? You know that you're accusing a fellow Leaf shinobi and this can backlash on you?"

Einjeru nods and says "Is there anyone else in the leaf that can use the dead soul jutsu?" Kakashi looks at her and says "Most of the medical corps. can. However, they wouldn't compromise their position by doing that." Einjeru sighed and said "This is going to be a long day." Kakashi nods and the ANBU that were guarding Einjeru appeared.

They went to Lord Third and explained what happened. Lord Third groaned and said "The nature of the accusation is very serious. Kabuto is the same rank as you." Einjeru nods and says "I wouldn't be saying anything if it wasn't true." The ANBU came forward and said "We were observing from outside the windows. The ninja in question was coming towards Sasuke with a kunai. Einjeru subdued him the best she could. However, he escaped in another body." Lord Third rubbed his forehead.

Einjeru bowed her head and said "I apologize sir. I never intended for this to happen." Lord Third shook his head and said "This wan't your fault, however I put you in danger." Einjeru rebutted saying "How were you supposed to know about an enemy assassin in your own forces? However we do need to find Kabuto and restrain him." Lord Third nods and says "You're right in that respect." He hands her a chunin vest and a certificate saying "Congratulations. You're now a chunin. Your job right now is to round up the genin and alert them to the potential danger that befalls us. The ANBU will be searching for Kabuto." Einjeru nods and says "I'm on the job."

Once she got out the office, she threw on her vest. The first stop was Naruto's apartment. Einjeru and Naruto then went to grab Sakura. The next stop after Sakura was the Hyuuga compound for Hinata and Neji. They then went to grab Kiba and Shino. The group then went to grab Rock Lee and TenTen. Einjeru was doing a count and seeing that they needed to grab Shikamaru and Choji.

After retrieving everyone, they headed to the hospital so Einjeru could check up on Sasuke. Upon getting to his room, Einjeru noticed that he was gone. She then thought to herself "Damn it! We never replaced the ANBU to guard him. Now he's gone and heaven knows where." She bit her finger to draw blood and weaved the signs for the summoning. Pakkun arrived saying "What's up?" Einjeru replied "Sasuke is missing and we need to track him down." Pakkun nodded and sniffed the bed.

Einjeru followed Pakkun. The genin followed behind her. Einjeru called out saying "How far are we from Sasuke?" Pakkun replied "He's near the village gate." Einjeru groaned thinking "What is that idiot doing? For the person who got tied for top rookie of the year, he's not using his head." They sped up and got to the gate.

Einjeru took a flying tackle towards Sasuke saying "Are you crazy?! You weren't discharged from the hospital yet! You'll be setting your recovery back!" Sasuke tried to push her off to no avail. Naruto and Sakura come out to the front. Sakura goes to start yelling and Naruto held her back saying "Sasuke's not in his right mind. Einjeru would be the best one to knock some sense into him."

They rolled on the ground. Einjeru growled and unleashed her killing intent to show him that she meant business. All of the other genin are sitting there watching and wondering if this will end some time soon. Kakashi appeared saying "What's going on here?" Einjeru explained everything and managed to calm down. Kakashi replied "Okay, I also see you've gathered the genin as instructed. I was going to check on Sasuke myself."

All of the genin looked in confusion and Einjeru says "The hidden leaf is in a state of emergency and it looks like a potential fight will break out. You think I wanted to come and retrieve all of you guys from your homes to hang out? Naruto, Choji and Shikamaru excluded." Naruto then says "Alright! A battle!" Einjeru then says "Naruto? Can you guess what I'm going to say next?" Naruto looked down and said "We have to stay out of the fight?"

Einjeru nods and says "Lord Third doesn't want the genin involved." Kiba who was enraged said "Then what are you?!" Einjeru tugged her vest and said "A chunin." Naruto yells out "How!" Einjeru said "It was a hindsight, but it looks like the third rounds are going to be cancelled. I was given a special test. It was guarding Sasuke while in the hospital. That was why we had to go there and go on a wild goose chase."

Sasuke grunts and tries to walk off. Einjeru appears in front of him saying "Nice try Uchiha." Kakashi then says "This is not the time for arguing. Regardless of whether or not you like it, Einjeru is your superior. You are to follow her instructions after I leave." He disappears and Neji says "Fate has..." Einjeru said "Don't you dare start with what fate has in store for someone because I'm not having it."

All of the genin took a look at her and kept their mouths shut. Einjeru took a deep breath before her mental switch slipped completely. She turned towards the genin and said "There's a side of me that I don't want to bring out, but if you guys push me I will." Squad 7 already saw it and thought "When her switch flips, she becomes the queen of torture and heartlessness." Sasuke gets a smile on his face. Naruto sees that and Einjeru read his thoughts saying "Nice try Sasuke, but I already know what you're thinking. If you even try it, you'll regret it and end up back in the hospital. You may think just because I'm your teammate it means I'll go easy. I will stop just short of killing you because I'm not one to kill my comrades."

Einjeru took another deep breath and said "You guys should stay together while traveling. If you guys will excuse me." She walked off and the rest of them were confused. Neji started heading back to the Hyuuga compound and Hinata followed. Naruto went after Einjeru, and Sakura and Ino trailed Sasuke. Shikamaru and Choji went to hang out. Shino and Kiba stuck around each other because they were on the same squad. The same went for Rock Lee and TenTen.

Naruto caught up with Einjeru and says "What was that? You've never made a threat like that." Einjeru said "That was my switch slipping and my anger seeping out. It would be best to leave me alone Naruto." Naruto grabbed her hand and said "You're coming with me." Einjeru sighed and said "If we're going for ramen, you're buying." She thinks to herself "I had to fall in love with a goof-ball."

At Ichiraku, Teuchi says "The usual for you two." Einjeru and Naruto nod, and they sit down. A few minutes later their ramen came out and Einjeru was calmer. Naruto looks at her and says "You're red again." Einjeru pulled up her mask and says "I'm only like that when I'm with you." Naruto slurps some of his ramen and looked at her. He gives a cheesy grin and says "You're cute."

Her mouth dropped and she looked down at the floor. Naruto smiles and says "That's somewhat better. Come on." The next thing Einjeru knew she was being dragged around the village. She couldn't help but to smile and giggle. Kakashi was watching from a distance and said "If anyone can keep Einjeru wrapped around them it's you Naruto."

Einjeru said to Naruto "I'm kind of embarrassed." Naruto asks why and gets in reply from Einjeru "I'm a chunin being dragged around by a genin." Naruto laughed and said "You're better off smiling. Angry isn't you." Einjeru sighed and said "It's not my fault. The pressure gets to me a bit." Naruto kept dragging her around and said "Maybe you can get Lord Third to reconsider his decision about the finals." Einjeru pulled her hand from him and looked at him concerned.

He looks back at her and says "What's wrong?" Einjeru said "They cancelled the finals because of Sasuke. Because of this a battle is likely to ensue, yet you're more concerned about beating Neji to a pulp. I love you." Naruto looks at her and says "What did you say?" Einjeru bit her tongue and said "I love you Naruto. I always have." Naruto gets a slight blush on his face and he says "No wonder why you're so loose around me."

Einjeru says "I guess, but you're so concerned about getting into a fight, it took you until now to notice." Naruto smiled and said "How can I ignore you? You make it almost impossible most days since the Land of Waves." She looked down and said "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you felt like that." He then says "It's not in an annoying manner. It's more of an 'I care for you' manner." Einjeru smiled and said "That's good."

Kakashi appears and says "Hey you two, you should be heading back to the apartment. There's a curfew in effect for all the young ninja effective immediately." Einjeru looks at him and says "This was just put in place now?" Kakashi nods and Naruto says "Aw, but sensei?" Kakashi shook his head and said "Head home Naruto. You'll see her tomorrow." Einjeru was breathing a sigh of relief under her breath.

They head to the apartment and Einjeru said "Why is this happening all of a sudden?" Kakashi shrugged and said "Lord Third convened a meeting of all of the jonin sensei including the rookies. He wanted to put a curfew on the rookies especially." Einjeru shrugs and says "Even though I was promoted, I'm still under the category of rookie. Also it wasn't like I had a curfew to follow anyway." Kakashi shakes his head and heads out saying "If you do need to go out, use a transformation and your chunin vest so you aren't spotted." Einjeru nods and heads to sleep.

The next few days were filled with intense training and emergency drills. Einjeru was separated from the squad and bored out of her mind. She had to work under Iruka at the academy and help him with the students to get them ready in case something did happen. One of the students asked Einjeru if she was actually a chunin. Einjeru gulped and her hand twitched as she said "I am. Also I'm highly competent and able to help. Do you guys want to see something cool?"

The students all looked in anticipation as Einjeru flashed through her hand signs. She gripped her right hand and the lightning appeared in her it. One of the students looked in amazement and said "What is that jutsu?" Einjeru smiled and said "The original jutsu of the Leaf's Copy Ninja, my father. It's called the chidori." Iruka smiled in amazement.

Einjeru said "Being the daughter of an elite jonin has its perks." She released the chidori and said "I have another awesome jutsu but if I summon her or him they might be mad at me." The students look at her like she was crazy and decided to pitch a fit until they saw what she meant. She flashed through the signs praying that it would be Shibura that came.

As soon as she called it out, both Pakkun and Shibura appeared. Einjeru said "What do you know? I summoned both of them." Pakkun smiles and says to her "Yo! I have a message for you." Einjeru listens intently and says "I'm needed at the hokage's office?" Shibura nods and says "I was getting bored so I'm tagging along." Einjeru smiled and the students look in amazement.

Iruka then said "You can summon as well?" Einjeru nods and says "I've done quite a bit of training in this past month on both of these jutsu, I would explain, but it appears that I'm needed. I'll see you later Iruka sensei." She heads over to Lord Third and saw squad 7 minus Sasuke. Pakkun and Shibura disperse and Einjeru looks at them saying "What's going on?"


	8. Chapter 8

Disappearance

Getting into the office, Einjeru noticed the looks on everyone's face. She gave a small bow, and Lord Third starts off saying "Sasuke Uchiha left the village." Einjeru went wide-eyed and said "Someone catch me. I'm getting dizzy." The blood flow in her head was abnormal due to the shock of the news. Kakashi caught her and said "This is no time for obnoxious behaviors. Stand up and carry yourself properly. You're a chunin now." Einjeru took some deep breaths and said "Why have we been summoned?"

Lord Third replied "You guys know Sasuke the best. You may be the only ones that can bring him back." Einjeru gulped and said "Are you sure?" Kakashi thinks "Her mental switch is temperamental. It may backfire." Naruto says "You have little faith in your teammates." Einjeru shakes her head saying "No, I have little faith in myself. If my switch flips, I may end up killing him. The last thing I need is the village shunning me for killing the Uchiha prince."

Naruto smiles and says "That may be the same for him if he killed the Hatake princess." Einjeru scowls at him saying "I may be the daughter of the Copy Ninja and granddaughter of the White Fang, but that does not mean that I can kill my comrades or handle being shunned by my home for something I had no control over." He hugs her saying "No worries, I'll be there." A flash of heat rushes to Einjeru's cheeks.

Kakashi then says "What about me and Sakura?" Einjeru exhales sharply knowing that Sakura's fan-girl tendencies could cause detriment and ultimately failure. She looks at Sakura who is the only one who is shedding tears. Part of Einjeru wanted to console Sakura, and the other part wanted to say "I told you so," and lecture her on shinobi conduct/call her stupid for her obsession. However, Einjeru remained quiet.

Kakashi was reading Einjeru's facial expressions like his make-out paradise book. Sakura looked at Einjeru and said "If you hurt him, I... I won't forgive you." Einjeru then said as emotionless as possible "I can't care less at this point. Sasuke's lucky that he hasn't branded as a rogue ninja yet. You need to grow up. Sasuke will have to be weakened in order for us to bring him back anyways." Kakashi looked at the two kunoichi, and Einjeru continued saying "Until you make chunin, watch your tongue."

Naruto remained quiet and continued to stare at them. Einjeru looks at Lord Third and says "Our mission is to retrieve Sasuke by any means necessary?" He nods and Einjeru faces Sakura again with disgust and says "I guess we have to leave as soon as we can. I left all my gear at home though." Kakashi says to her "Meet us at the main gate as soon as you're ready." She nods.

Einjeru gets to the apartment and grabs her kunai pouch, her chakra saber, her extra pouch, and her mask. She comes back to the gate and notices that Sakura wasn't there. She sighs and says "Where's Sakura?" Naruto then says "What's going on here? You hurt Sakura in the worst way. Aren't we supposed to be a team?" Einjeru sighed and said "I'm trying to detach my personal feelings from this mission and I was only telling Sakura the truth. To be honest, I'm torn between my duty to the village and my emotions." Luckily she had her mask on so no one could see the frown that was on her face.

Sakura came with a gleeful look on her face. Kakashi notices something off about her. Einjeru thinks to herself "Something's wrong here." Kakashi then said "Let's head out." Einjeru nods and follows Kakashi. He starts the venture off saying "Einjeru, I want you to summon Shiruba. I'll be summoning Pakkun." They flashed through the hand signs and slammed their hands on the ground calling out the summoning jutsu.

Shiruba and Pakkun appeared and noticed squad 7 short a person. Shiruba notices the tension on Einjeru's face even with the mask on. Einjeru then said "Sasuke left the village. Our mission is to find him and bring him back by any means necessary." Shiruba then says "Do you have anything with Sasuke's scent on it? I'm still learning in that respect." Sakura then brought out one of Sasuke's personal possessions.

Everyone wanted to ask how she obtained it. However Shiruba was taking a good whiff and trying to commit the smell to memory. Einjeru smiled and said "Do you have a good knowledge of the scent?" Shibura nods and Pakkun says "Shibura you're leading. I'm going to follow behind to make sure we're not being followed." Shibura nods and they take to the trees.

Kakashi was back with Pakkun and Einjeru was up with Shibura. Kakashi asked Pakkun why he let Shibura take the lead. Pakkun said "I wanted her to gain more experience. She's not like her brothers and sisters. I'm kind of like you when it comes to Einjeru. Even though I'm not her father, I look over her like she was one of my own. I also intend to show Shibura some tricks along the way."

Meanwhile in front, Einjeru was trying to understand why Sasuke left like he did. Shibura said "Is something wrong?" Einjeru sighed and said "Nothing more than confusion setting in. Aren't you following the scent?" Shibura nods and faces forward saying "I am more than just your summon you know. I am your companion and willing to listen." Einjeru smiled and said "Thanks Shibura."

In the center, Sakura is muttering curses under her breath and Naruto wanted to request that Sakura be left behind because of said behaviors. He says to her "You know Sakura, you should move past the petty insults and see that Einjeru couldn't care less about your obsessions and threats towards her. Do you really believe that she wants to hurt him intentionally?" Sakura looked at Einjeru's back and looked at Naruto.

Einjeru was listening with her wolf ears. She shed some bitter tears saying "Is that how little you think of me Sakura?" She started speeding ahead. Naruto then said "Told you." Kakashi made a clone to go slow her down. He sighed and said "Do you have to deal with this with Shibura?" Pakkun shook his head and said "When someone is loyal to their team yet they don't trust them, what do you expect?"

Naruto tries to catch up to Einjeru. Kakashi managed to beat him to it. Einjeru sniffled. Kakashi made the hand signs to tell them to slow up and take a break. Einjeru and Shibura were the first ones to reach the ground. Naruto and Sakura followed with Kakashi and Pakkun touching last. Einjeru went behind a tree and buried her head.

Kakashi came up next to her saying "You can't hide." Einjeru tries to inch away from him, but he grabs her shoulder and says "What's going on?" Einjeru shook her head. Kakashi says to her "Tell me. If not as your dad asking, but as your senior officer, I'm telling you to tell me." Einjeru sighs and says "Fine, it's Sakura." Kakashi crossed his arms and says "When you do see Sasuke, what do you intend to do?" Einjeru sighs and says "I don't know. If Sakura thinks so little of me then maybe I should let him hurt me just to prove a point to her. Maybe if he almost kills me she'll understand."

Naruto was hearing everything and thought "That's it. There's no way I'm letting this happen." He went over to Sakura and glared at her. She looks back at him and says "What's with you?" He riled his chakra, causing her to stand on end. Naruto said "You've done nothing but annoy and hurt Einjeru since the academy days. It's only gotten worse since we've become a squad. You're a brat and Einjeru doesn't deserve any of it. She's tried to ignore you and move past your behavior like she was told. You shouldn't even be a shinobi."

Back with Kakashi and Einjeru, Kakashi says "Don't talk like that! It sounds like you're giving up." Einjeru snaps at him saying "That's right! I am! I'm tired of trying to make Sakura see." Kakashi sighs and grabs Einjeru's wolf ear saying "Get this through your thick skull Einjeru; You can't just give up like that because of one of your teammates doubts." Einjeru shakes her head "We've been at it for months. More like years if you count the time at the academy. While her and all of the other girls at the academy were actively fawning over Sasuke, I was secretly fawning over Naruto and not showing it. I actively despised and detested Sasuke. When we were put together I put it to the side and my feelings for Naruto became stronger to the point where I can't restrain them any more."

Back with Naruto and Sakura, Sakura says "You were last in our class. How can you say anything like that to me?" Naruto laughed and said "You lack the knowledge of actual love. Not to mention, you are stupider than I am. After class in our academy days, I was always training, busting my butt to get by and graduate. No one but Einjeru noticed my strife and she was the only one in the academy to notice what I lacked. I now understand why she said what she did. It's time I returned the gesture." Sakura looks at him nervously and shivers at the thought of what he might do to her. He drags her over to where Kakashi and Einjeru are, and they both hear the last part of her statement.

Kakashi sensed them, but didn't let on. Einjeru then said "What's the point? Apparently Sasuke's into me and I can't stop him or show him who I'm in love with." Naruto peers his head through and smiles. Sakura overhearing this starts feeling bad. Naruto came out and said "Hi there!" Einjeru looked over in shock and looked down in embarrassment.

Naruto knelt down in front of her and gave the cheesiest grin he could. Einjeru looked at him and wiped her tears. Kakashi looks at him and says "You guys were eaves-dropping." Naruto said back "To be honest, I came at the point when she said that emotions about me were stronger. At first when she said 'I love you' to me at Ichiraku, I was confused, but now after letting it sink in and hearing what she said, I understand."

Einjeru looked at him and said "You're not weirded out, are you?" Naruto laughs and says "Are you kidding?! I started getting the picture somewhat after meeting pervy sage. I started looking at you differently as we grew." Einjeru blushed and giggled. Kakashi tried to give a menacing death glare, but inwardly was relieved. Sakura came out. Naruto extended his hand and lifted Einjeru up. Sakura came closer and Naruto glared at her. Einjeru felt the riled chakra and looked at him in excitement.

Kakashi looks at her and thinks "True to the Hatake inside." Einjeru looked around and saw Shibura having a mini lesson. Einjeru pulled her mask down and said "Is it me or is it warm all of a sudden?" Kakashi revealed his sharingan and said "It's a genjutsu." Einjeru and Sakura made the sign and released themselves. Einjeru looked at Naruto and thought "I'm going to work this boy to the bone in genjutsu, so he can at least be able to dispel it." She made the sign and tapped him on the shoulder releasing him.

Everyone looked around and noticed the ninja hounds gone. Einjeru forced chakra into her nose and sniffed around for any of Shibura or Pakkun's scents. Kakashi kept his sharingan eye open and Naruto made shadow clones ready to defend. Einjeru growled and said "This is impossible. I know they didn't disperse because their scent is all over the place. If they dispersed their scents would be in the spot they were in before the disappeared. Obviously someone doesn't want us to find Sasuke."

All of a sudden, four ninja appear and say "Hey, which way to the hidden leaf? These mutts were useless." Einjeru saw Shibura beaten and bloody. Pakkun was in just as bad shape. The ninja dropped them and Kakashi said that they needed to dispel the summoning or they won't survive. Einjeru knelt down next to Shibura and rubbed her head. Shibura wanted to speak, but Einjeru forbade it saying "Save your strength. We'll talk later after I kick someones behind." She sent Shibura back and asked Kakashi if it was safe to flip her switch. He nods and says "Don't kill them. They may have some valuable information if they're asking where the leaf is."

Einjeru flipped the switch and her demeanor changed. Naruto went into his mindscape and started talking to Kurama. Naruto started off saying "Hey Kurama! I need your opinion on something."

Kurama opens his eyes and says " **You brat! You better have a good reason for waking me! I was in the middle of a good dream.** "

Naruto replied "I apologize, but I want you to use my eyes and see if these guys are troublesome in my current state."

Kurama looks at him and says " **What about the girl? What is she doing?** "

Naruto says "She's flipped her mental switch. Those guys beaten her summon quite badly. She has developed quite the grudge against them in less than thirty seconds."

Kurama laughs and says " **If she's riled, then maybe your current state isn't a good thing to go into battle with. I'll check them out though and give you advice on which type of chakra to use.** "

Naruto nods and Kurama takes control of his senses. Naruto's eyes turned red and slit. Einjeru looks at him and thinks "Something's different about him. I don't know why, but it's exciting me." Kurama under Naruto's senses is scoping the opposition out and Kakashi senses that Naruto isn't Naruto. Back in the mindscape, Kurama looks at Naruto.

Kurama starts off saying " **You may have to start off in version one and go from there. These guys are not to be messed around with especially the fat one. He has a tendency to eat chakra. The girl with the flute was the one who casted the genjutsu. Your sensei would be the best one to go against her. The guy with the spider arms is the one where speed and rapid senses will win. You know when you finish your mission, I will have figured out a suitable way to exact my revenge. The fourth guy is a mystery. It's like he has two people inside him. Be careful brat.** "

Naruto nods and comes out of his mindscape. The chakra for his version one state came out and he became bright. Einjeru, Kakashi and Sakura look in amazement. Naruto smiles and says "This was something I was going to show off during the matches, but oh well. According to a source; the girl with the flute is the genjutsu caster, the fat one next to her likes to eat chakra, the one with the spider arms is quick to react and the last one is like a mystery. We have to be careful." Kakashi says "The genjutsu caster is mine. Einjeru, you take care of spider arms. Naruto you take care of the chakra eater. Sakura; you're going to have to take care of the mystery guy. If anyone manages to defeat their opponent support the others."

Einjeru grinned saying "I hoped you would say that sensei." Naruto thought "Just as Kurama said. I hope Sakura doesn't space out or need help. She's the weakest on our squad as far physical strength and jutsu go." Sakura frowned thinking "Now we'll never get to Sasuke." Einjeru reading her thoughts said "I swear to god Sakura, get a grip! We're about to go into battle and all you can think about is Sasuke! If you don't watch it, you're going to end up dying. These guys mean business."

The spider armed guy appears behind Einjeru saying "You should pay attention more." He stabs her and a puff of smoke appears. Einjeru appears behind him with a pair of chakra suppression cuffs. She laughs hysterically and says "Your speed is not like mine." She hops off of him hoping to play around and torture him some.

Naruto faces the fat guy thinking "He's the complete opposite of Choji. What should I do?" He face palms and claps his hands together. "Wind style: Gale Palm!" He knocks the fat guy off his feet and Kurama says to Naruto to use a mini tailed beast bomb.

Kakashi is facing off against the genjutsu user. He thinks "The flute must be the source of it." He pulls out a kunai and looks at the flute saying "To have a weakness like that, it makes you susceptible to attacks." The girl says "Like you'll be able to touch me, you cycloptic clod." Kakashi ignored her and grabbed her flute.

Sakura stands in front of her opponent and sizes him up. The guy says "What's a pretty young thing like you doing being a ninja?" Sakura looks at him and remains quiet. She tries to go for a low blow. He catches her and says "No holds barred huh? I like you." She jumps back thinking "This guy. He's out of my league."

Einjeru meanwhile is laughing and saying to him "I've rendered your six extra arms useless and you're wearing chakra suppression cuffs. You're at my mercy." The guy laughed and said "Oh really?" He started changing and broke the chakra suppression cuffs. "Shit!" Einjeru thought as she flipped backwards.

Naruto managed to trap the guy in a crater after using the mini tailed beast bomb. He started to change and his hair became a nasty shade of orange. Naruto thinks to himself "I may have to go into version 2 chakra mode. I hope the others are fairing well." He backs off and his chakra changes even more."

Kakashi snaps the flute and comes behind the girl saying "It's over." The girl turned around and attempted to kick Kakashi where it hurts. Kakashi jumped back and she underwent a change. Kakashi was looking with his sharingan and thought "This is just like the curse seal that was put on Sasuke."

Sakura was doing her best to block her opponents attacks. Her opponent was relentless with his attacks. He managed to get behind her and grab her hair. She screamed out. Einjeru and Naruto looked over in that direction and got knocked into each other by their respective opponents.

They grunt in pain and Naruto says "How are you doing in your battle?" Einjeru replied "I took a nasty hit. You?" Naruto replied "Could be better. You heard Sakura scream out right?" Einjeru nods and says "That weakling. She needs help, but we're all pressed against a corner." Their opponents appeared in front of them and Einjeru spit blood out of her mouth saying "Let's kick their butts so we can help out our team." Einjeru revealed her ears, tail and claws thinking "It's time to get serious." Her eyes changed so she can see the slightest of movements. Naruto goes into version 2 state.

Kakashi looked at his opponent and says "I may have to tap into my other half and let my sharingan rest." He pulled his headband over his eye and revealed his ears. His one eye changed allowing him to see his opponents movements better. The girl looked at him and said "Nothing can save you."

Sakura tried pulling away from her captor to no avail. He said "Like I said, what's a pretty young thing like you doing being a ninja? You're not even in the same league as your teammates. Even the blonde kid is stronger than you." Sakura pulls a kunai out and the guy laughs saying "Kunai won't affect me." Sakura slices her hair and it spreads everywhere.

Einjeru sees the hair and says "She's finally bloomed huh?" She narrowly avoided her opponents attack and said "Come on my father can hit better than you." She sharpened her claws and sliced at him. She got one of his good arms and he hissed in pain. She grinned revealing her elongated canines.

Naruto was pounding his opponent into the ground. He saw Sakura's hair and assumed the worst. He continued beating the fat guy to a pulp. As soon as he knocked the guy unconscious, he pulled a pair of chakra suppression cuffs out and put them on him.

Kakashi moved as soon as he saw the first twitch. He got in her blind spot and pinned her. He saw Sakura's hair and thought "She's finally accepted what it means to be a shinobi. I wonder what Einjeru thinks." He then slapped the chakra suppression cuffs on his opponent and rendered her unconscious.

After Sakura cut her hair and got away from him. She stood up and grabbed a second kunai from her pouch. She started slashing at him without hesitancy. "I am not weak. I will not become a hindrance." She managed to get a slice on his face. All of a sudden a second set of arms and legs came out of him.

Einjeru was kicking, back-handing and laying haymakers on her opponent. He manages to weave a spider web, but Einjeru runs her lightning chakra through it and breaks it. She snaps his arms and ties all of them up. She starts to pant and says "Now's not the time to be exhausted."

Einjeru, Naruto and Kakashi made their way over to Sakura. They see that she's outnumbered. Einjeru jumps next to Sakura and says "So you finally grow up huh?" Sakura smiles to see that Einjeru is jumping in to help. Kakashi and Naruto deal with the second one. Sakura and Einjeru managed to synchronize their moves and knocked out one of them. Einjeru says "If I had to guess, those two are identical twins." They look to see Kakashi and Naruto beating the other one to a pulp.

After they knocked the other one out, the squad tied the two of them together and brought the rest of the enemy ninja and tied them up separately and bundled them together thinking "We can't afford for them to escape." Kakashi says "I'm going to summon one of the other ninja hounds and send a message to the village. We need to get after Sasuke. We wasted enough time dealing with these fools." Einjeru nods and says "I'm also able to summon the other hounds too right?"

Kakashi nods and says "We need an extra nose to lead us in the right direction." They summoned two more hounds. The new hound that Einjeru summons says "My name is Raito." The dog that Kakashi summoned says "Pakkun and Shiruba will recover, but they will be out of action for a while. I've taken Raito under my wing, but he's an excellent tracker. What do you need?" Kakashi explained that he needed to send a report to the village. The dog nods and speeds along to the village with the report.

Einjeru puts Sasuke's personal belonging up to Raito's nose and he started to track it right away. They followed making sure nothing else stopped them from their venture to bring back their comrade.

Back in the village, the ninja hound that Kakashi summoned ran straight to the hokage's office. Lord Third noticed the dog running in with the report. He read it and summoned a team of ANBU to retrieve the package that squad 7 left in the forest. The ANBU flashed to the location.

Meanwhile Squad 7 under the lead of Raito and Einjeru were close to the Valley of the End. Einjeru wipes her mouth and says "Are you sure we're heading the right way Raito?" He nods and says "His scent is getting stronger." Kakashi says "We're almost to the fire countries border. We have to go faster. Once he's over the border we can't pursue him anymore." They force chakra into their legs and go faster.

Sasuke is taking a breath and senses the others coming. "Damn it! They're coming. I thought those four would have taken care of them." He started to move again, just to be stopped by his teammates. Raito growls to emphasize the point that is being made.

Everyone looked at with a mix of concern and disappointment. Sasuke laughed maniacally. Einjeru pulled down her mask saying "There's no way I can contain my emotions. It's time that everyone saw my facial expressions." Naruto saw the pain on her face and Einjeru continued "All my pain, I've hidden. I can't anymore." Sakura looked at her and Einjeru said "I don't want to hear it. This is the last straw. I'll bring him back if it costs me my life. I just want you guys to look after my dad if that comes to fruition."

Naruto looks in shock and says "You're not in this alone." Sakura thinks "This is my fault." Kakashi looked at Einjeru and said "I won't let this happen." Einjeru closed her eyes and pulled out her chakra saber. Sasuke says "You won't be able to scratch me." The rest of squad 7 looked at him with distaste.

Sasuke turned on his sharingan and Kakashi lifted his headband saying "You guys get him from his blind spot. I'll face him head on." Einjeru nods, and Naruto says "Sasuke's gone too far." Sakura has a pleading look on her face and begs Sasuke to stop. Einjeru looked down and said "If we don't stop him here, he'll become a threat to the village, and all of the hidden villages will be after him." Sakura then relents saying "I can't."

Sasuke punches Einjeru in the stomach. Einjeru coughs up and Naruto charges in with a kunai. "Fuck this!" Einjeru thought. She stood up still coughing. Kakashi kept an eye on Naruto thinking "If Naruto dies, sensei will haunt me forever." Sakura stands there and thinks "Who is he?" Einjeru took in a deep breath and noticed Sasuke aiming for Sakura with a kunai.

Einjeru appeared in front of Sakura blocking his blow with the chakra saber. "Bring it Uchiha!" Sasuke smirked and jumped back. Einjeru roared out and charged in. She was slashing at him without a care. Kakashi grabbed Sakura and Naruto and moved them. Sasuke laughs, and Einjeru detaches her weights, and disappears in a blur of purple, black and silver.

Einjeru re-appears behind him slashing his shoulder saying "What was that about not being able to scratch you?" Sasuke glares at her and Naruto gets him in the arm. Einjeru collapses thinking "I'm low on chakra. My stomach still hurts from the blow I took from Sasuke." Sasuke comes towards her and she jumps back thinking "How did he get so fast." Naruto appears next to Einjeru saying "We're in trouble." Einjeru nods and says "Sakura has the most chakra and stamina than we do right now. However she's practically useless in her current state."

Sasuke comes at them and Kakashi appears in front of them kicking Sasuke. Einjeru pants and thinks "I may have to go full wolf in order to finish this." She changes and Naruto looks at her saying "Going for the wolf style?" Einjeru says "It's the last thing he'll expect. It's my last resort." She got into an offensive stance.

Kakashi meanwhile is in close range battle using his sharingan. Einjeru charged in and got Sasuke from behind using the wolf style. Kakashi smiles and thinks "If you're going to use it as a wolf I may as well use the human form of it." He does a partial change and punches Sasuke. Sasuke ended up confused because he never saw the moves.

Einjeru knocked him out using the shadow fang and collapsed reverting back to normal. Kakashi caught her and smiled thinking "Thank goodness." Einjeru muttered "Am I dead?" Kakashi said "Far from it." Naruto was holding Sasuke. Squad 7 returned to the village with Sasuke in tow. Sakura looked at Einjeru. Einjeru looked back with an exhausted look in her eyes. "I feared that I was going to kill him. I'm surprised that Sakura is looking at me with concern." Einjeru thought.

Upon getting back to the village, Squad 7 was escorted to the hospital for treatment. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi got off with a few bumps and bruises. Sasuke and Einjeru were more severe with chakra exhaustion and broken limbs. Naruto was wondering how Einjeru got broken limbs. Kakashi explained about using the wolf style in wolf form and the disadvantages behind it. Sasuke ended up having a broken neck from the shadow fang.

Einjeru lied in the bed covered in bandages and casts. Naruto and Kakashi came in and Einjeru chuckled. "That's why I said that the wolf style is my last resort." She cringed in pain. Naruto came close to her and she smiled saying "I'm glad you're okay." Naruto gave a smile saying "When you're released, we're going to eat whatever you want." Einjeru let loose a tear. She wanted to hug him.

Kakashi came over and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto looked up and Kakashi said "You should get home Naruto. I'll be by to check up on you later." Naruto nods and leaves the room. Kakashi rubs his hand across Einjeru's face. She looked at him and said "I'm fine dad." Kakashi knelt down next to her saying "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Einjeru smiled saying "We're shinobi, we're not guaranteed a long life." Kakashi strokes her hair and says "But I'd prefer that you outlive me."

Einjeru cringed in pain again. She puts on a smile saying "I'll be out of here before you know it." Kakashi nods and says "Get some rest my Angel." She nods and tries to rest. Kakashi comes out of the room and notices Lord Third. Lord Third nods and says "She'll be fine. I have the ANBU guarding her room. She's too precious to leave unattended. Sasuke's room is under heavy guard as well." Kakashi nods and says "I have a young kunoichi who needs to be detached from him."

Lord Third nods and says "Ah yes, Sakura. I may have to pull her off of active duty. She's caused some detriment and put one of our own out of commission." Kakashi nods and says "I don't know what to do with her. She's always blaming Einjeru for her short-comings with Sasuke." Lord Third says "I've noticed. I need to get going." Kakashi nods.

At Sasuke's room, Sakura sits there looking at him, unsure of what to say. Sasuke grits his teeth and looks at Sakura. Kakashi came into the room with disdain written on his face. Sakura looks at him and Kakashi says "Lord Third is taking squad 7 off of active mission status until further notice. Sakura, you might be pulled. Sasuke you'll be closely monitored. Einjeru will be bed-ridden for a few weeks."

Back in Einjeru's room, Tenzo comes in without his mask and says "You're just as reckless as senpai too." Einjeru smiled and said "What's up? Did you get worried about me?" He laughed it off and said "In your dreams." Einjeru chuckled until a shot of pain surged through. Tenzo said "You're quite the tough one. I might ask him to take you under my wing when I'm not on missions." Einjeru said "Do you think Lord Third would allow it? I don't think you want to jeopardize your position." He waves it off saying "I have a perfect service record. If anything Lord Third and senpai would probably encourage it." Einjeru relaxed a little bit and closed her eyes.

Meanwhile on the outskirts of the village, Orochimaru was seething that the sound ninja four were defeated by mere brats. Kabuto appeared before him and said "Einjeru was one of those brats. Apparently she has more firepower than we thought." Orochimaru then said "I should've tried going after her first." Kabuto then said "Well being the daughter of the copy ninja who was praised for having natural talent as the genius son of the White Fang, she is going to have her aces."

In the hospital, Einjeru is shivering and cringing in pain. The nurse comes in, and notices Einjeru running a fever and writhing in pain. She called in the other nurses to restrain her. Einjeru grunts and tries to wriggle free. "No!" She screams out. The nurses were having a hard time restraining her.

Kakashi heard the scream from Sasuke's room. He says to Sakura "The curfew's still in effect for the genin. You need to get home." Sakura nods and leaves. Kakashi walks out the room and the ANBU lock it down. He flashed to Einjeru's room and noticed the nurses trying to restrain her. She whines and tries to thrash.

Kakashi puts his hand to her forehead and noticed she was burning up. He rubs her head to calm her down and distract while they get the medicine. They stuck the needle into her vein and she calmed down. Einjeru's writhing died down to a whimper as she fell asleep.

Kakashi came out the room and Tenzo came up to him saying "Senpai, I have a request to make." Kakashi looks at him. Tenzo continues saying "I wish to take Einjeru under my wing." Kakashi then says "Are you sure about this? She's quite the handful." Tenzo smirks and says "She's a female mini-you. Besides I have yet to see what she can really do." Kakashi smiles and says "When she's recuperated, she's yours."

Lord Third observes the conversation and smiles thinking "This will work out perfectly. I can just make it a mission for him." Tenzo appears before Lord Third saying "Einjeru is secure sir." Lord Third nods and says "I'm aware of your conversation with Kakashi and decided to make a mission for you out of it. In addition to your guarding duties, you shall be training her." Tenzo nods and says "I accept sir."

A couple weeks later, Einjeru was cleared for release with restrictions on her training (By restrictions they mean no training at all). Tenzo and Kakashi stood in the lobby waiting for her. She walked out on crutches. "My legs are still healing. It's a pain, but I can't do anything yet." Kakashi chuckled and said "Don't worry, you'll recover soon." Einjeru was still sore. They decided on barbecue.

Einjeru found that she couldn't sit properly and winced in pain. Kakashi adjusted her position and she frowned. Kakashi nudged her saying "It's okay to rely on others sometimes." The meat got to their table and Einjeru sat there patiently grilling the meat. As soon as it was perfect she ate it. Kakashi and Tenzo were surprised that she was eating a lot. Einjeru sighed and said "I didn't eat in the hospital. I refused to." Kakashi then said "You have lost weight." Einjeru sighed and said "I lost my appetite."

Einjeru got on her crutches and decided to walk around the village. She found herself near the Yamanaka flower shop and saw Ino. Einjeru looked around for some special flowers that she could leave at the memorial stone. Ino comes behind her saying "Mission went wrong?" Einjeru shrugged and said "Depends on how you look at it. Either way, I want some flowers so I can pay respect to my mother. She passed sometime after I was born." Ino nods and asks if she needed help carrying the flowers. Einjeru nods and they head to the memorial stone.

Kakashi was at the memorial stone. Einjeru and Ino come up and Ino places the flowers in Einjeru's arms. Einjeru hops over to the stone and sets the flowers down. She traces her fingers over her mothers name and moves over to Naruto's parents names. Kakashi noticed the fingers tracing over the names and reaches out to tap her arm before she retracted it all of a sudden.

She made an abrupt movement to catch her crutch which fell. Kakashi helped her to re-balance her weight. She got the crutch and decided to go see Naruto. She found him at Ichiraku and came in. Naruto turned and saw her. He ran from his seat and helped her into a chair. Teuchi says "In celebration of your recovery. Ramen's on the house." Einjeru smiled and said "Hit me up with the usual."

Einjeru slurps up the ramen and asks Naruto if he felt like going for a walk. They decided to go to the park that they hung out during their academy days. Naruto starts the conversation with "How long will it be before you can resume training again?" Einjeru smiles and says "Not for a couple more weeks." Naruto smiles and says "Well at least you're alive." Einjeru smiles and says "I don't think it would be worth it if you weren't here."

Naruto helps her up and they walk back to the apartment. Kakashi was awaiting them. Einjeru looks at him wondering if something is wrong. He faces them concerned. Einjeru gets nervous and Kakashi says "The squad is being split. Naruto as a protection measure, you'll remain under me." Naruto nods and Einjeru said "Technically I'm a chunin now, but I'm not on active status." Kakashi says "As a chunin you'll be able to lead your own squad if given the opportunity."

Einjeru nods and says "I can't do anything with both of my legs busted." Kakashi and Naruto look at her and laugh saying "Nothing's stopped you before. What's up?" Einjeru laughs and says "I've never had broken bones before." Kakashi looks sheepish and says "That's true." Naruto then says "Broken bones won't stop me!" Einjeru shakes her head in amusement.

Sasuke has been under close observation by Lord Third who was thinking "If he disappears from the village again, I'll have no choice but to brand him a rogue ninja. I just hope Itachi forgives me if that comes to pass." Tenzo appeared before Lord Third saying "Einjeru is stable and walking around sir." Lord Third says "Stay with her. We can't afford for anything to happen to her." Tenzo nods and disappears.

Einjeru was lying on her bed bored out of her mind, but her crutches were starting to hurt her and she was told to rest. She sighed and decided to rest her eyes. A few hours later she wakes up to a snake-like shadow in her window. She reaches for her crutches which weren't there. She fell out of her bed and big thud was heard. She was crawling across the floor. She grunts trying to turn on the light.

As soon as the light was on she saw a whole bunch of snakes. She made the sign and said release. Nothing happened and Einjeru was in a corner. Orochimaru appeared out of the snakes and was holding her crutches. Einjeru scowls and says "Don't you have anything else to do, you snake?" Orochimaru looks at her and says "I'm surprised you defeated one of my bodyguards." Einjeru growled and said "I'd do it again. Now why are you here in my room?" She managed to set off a silent alarm which summoned Tenzo to her.

Tenzo looked at Orochimaru from behind the mask and said to Einjeru "Are you okay?" Einjeru looked down and said "He has my crutches." Tenzo made her some new ones and got her on her feet. Einjeru hopped out of the room to see Kakashi was knocked out. She taps his face to see him unresponsive. She reaches for his mask and he grabs her hand saying "Don't even think about it."

Einjeru smiles and says "The next time I tap your face respond. Then I wouldn't have to go for your mask. All of a sudden there was an explosion. Kakashi shot up and said "What are you doing out of your room?" Einjeru glares at him and gestures toward the snake-like shadow." He flashes over to her room and says "What are you doing in my daughter's room you snake?" Orochimaru looks at Kakashi and says "Your daughter has some unique gifts."

Einjeru grips her crutches and thought "I hate having to have people defend me." The other ANBU appeared and said "You're surrounded Orochimaru." Orochimaru called out the multiple striking shadow snakes. Kakashi jumped and tackled Einjeru. She whined saying "You're crushing my legs." He got up and picked up Einjeru bridal style and got her out of there.

Kakashi brought her to Lord Thirds office. Einjeru frowned and said "My safety has been compromised." Kakashi then said "Orochimaru came into her room." Lord Third rose up and said "The village is in lockdown." Einjeru then said "Could you put me down dad? This is a little awkward." Kakashi smiled and said "Do you really want to be set on the floor?" Einjeru nods and Lord Third said "Take her to the hospital. Her casts need to be removed."

Einjeru looked at him and said "Are you sure sir?" Lord Third nods saying "You have a remarkable healing ability. Your legs should have healed by now." Kakashi flashed over to the hidden leaf hospital with a note from Lord Third. In the hospital, the nurses saw the note with the hokage seal on it and removed her casts. Einjeru stood on her feet and stretched out thinking "It will feel good to wear sandals again."

Kakashi handed her her sandals and said "Get to the hokage stone faces. If the village is being locked down, all civilians will be evacuated to the shelters behind the faces." Einjeru nods and Kakashi hands her her chunin vest. She put it on and ran to the stone faces and saw Iruka.

Iruka saw her and said "I thought you were on crutches and under a curfew." Einjeru replied "I have a special recuperative ability and my home is not safe to be at. I was sent over to help you sensei." Iruka nods and they go to start evacuating the villagers. Einjeru while doing her job noticed that Sasuke was out of it. She went over to him and tried to guide him. He ignored her and she wondered where the ANBU that were supposed to be guarding him were.

Either way, Einjeru was supposed to get all non-active shinobi and civilian persons to the stone faces. She grabbed Sasuke and got him over there. Iruka noticed that Einjeru was literally dragging Sasuke. Iruka appears next to them and says "What's going on?" Einjeru shrugged and said "I found Sasuke out of it and he wasn't responsive to anything. I didn't know what to do." Iruka looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke had a blank look in eyes. Einjeru had to think of the side-effects of the shadow fang. "Oh no! I gave him amnesia!" Iruka looked at her saying "How? You didn't hit him that hard when you were fighting." Einjeru said "I used the shadow fang on him. Sometimes it causes amnesia if hit in the right spot." Iruka then said "Wouldn't the medical ninja have diagnosed him with it if it was the case." Einjeru shook her head and said "It never sets in right away. It's been a couple weeks since the incident in question."

Iruka said "How is that connected to your injuries?" Einjeru shook her head saying "The shadow fang is a technique used in my wolf form. Using the wolf style in that form causes me to have some broken bones. It's my last resort in a fight." Iruka then says "How did you heal so quickly?" Einjeru shrugged and said "Must have to do with my mom's side. Either way enough about me. I need to get Sasuke to my dad. He's the only one that can fix this." Einjeru gets Sasuke on her back and hops to find Kakashi.

Kakashi was back at the apartment. Einjeru tried to sneak in without drawing too much attention. Kakashi sensed her and was seething. He came to the kitchen and said "You better have a damn good reason for coming here." Einjeru was panicked when she said "I gave Sasuke amnesia." Kakashi sighed and said "Now of all times." Einjeru then said "On a positive note, most of our noncombatants have been evacuated. I found Sasuke and he was totally out of it. Looking in his eyes, I noticed it."

Sasuke was looking at Kakashi funny and Einjeru sighed. Kakashi managed to get him back most of his memories of squad 7 and left the more recent stuff out. They kind of lied about what happened to his neck. Einjeru got Sasuke back to the stone faces relieved. Iruka nods and says "All of the noncombatants have been evacuated." Einjeru reveals her ears and changes her eyes.

Einjeru kept a vigil over the village. A tail swish here and a tail flick there. All of a sudden an explosion rang from the apartment. "Naruto! Dad! No!" She flashes over there. Naruto comes outside. He looks at Einjeru's legs and looks around him. "What's going on Einjeru?" She shook her head saying "Now's not the time. We need to get out of here." Naruto then says "What about Kakashi sensei?" Einjeru said "We'll get yelled at by him if we're caught here. We've got to move."

They got outside the apartment and ran to see if the other genin were okay. The Hyuugas were fine, Kiba was fine, Shino was fine, Sakura was fine, Rock Lee was fine, TenTen was fine, Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were fine. Fires started to break out all over the village. Naruto and Einjeru stood back to back thinking "Technically we're not noncombatants, but Lord Third doesn't want the young genin/chunin getting involved. However he'll want us to defend ourselves."

Einjeru made sure she avoided Kakashi as much as possible. Naruto was running to check around. He met back with Einjeru who said "All of the noncombatants have been removed from the village. All of the genin are probably besides us, Sasuke, Sakura, Lee, and TenTen are going to stay with their clans. Sasuke has went to the stone faces because of his injuries." Naruto looked at her. Rock Lee decided to join them. Einjeru made the decision to duck and cover in case something was going on.


	9. Chapter 9

Invasion

After they got out of dodge, some hidden sand and hidden sound ninja appeared. They were looking for any of the genin to use as bargaining chips. Einjeru looked from around a corner thinking "The third rounds have been cancelled. All of the foreign shinobi should have returned to their respective countries." Naruto was looking and the sand and sound shinobi turned around. "Run!" Einjeru yelled.

Before Einjeru had the chance to move, She was grabbed by her chunin vest. Naruto noticed and tried to go back for her. She yelled at him to get moving. The ninja start dragging her off. Naruto bites his mouth thinking "You better survive." Einjeru was thinking the same thing.

Kakashi was battling some hidden sand ninja. They started to laugh. Kakashi looks at them saying "What's so funny?" The hidden sand ninja said "We have your brat." His eye widened at that. He then slashed at them thinking "Einjeru, you better not be reckless." The hidden sand shinobi barely lasted thirty seconds.

Meanwhile, Einjeru was pulled out of the village. She closed her eyes and thought "Sorry dad." The hidden sand and sound shinobi then said "This particular brat was to be brought to Lord Orochimaru." Einjeru tried to summon the strength she had to break the ropes. She gritted her teeth and pulled as hard as she could. Gaara appeared and Einjeru thought "Just my luck."

Kakashi was rushing through the village tracking Einjeru's chakra and taking down any sand and sound shinobi that stood in his way. He got to the village gate and noticed the vest by the firelight. He went quiet and knocked out all of the shinobi. Einjeru who still had her eyes shut and her hands bound prayed for this to be over quickly. Gaara had disappeared.

Kakashi grabbed her and said "Open your eyes Einjeru." She opens them to see Kakashi's sharingan eye open. They landed on top of the stone faces and he says to her "How could you allow yourself to be caught? I taught you better than that." Einjeru blew up at that and said "And allow my comrades to be caught instead? No thanks! I'd rather die before that happens."

Einjeru faced the village hidden in the leaves and said "I don't care if I'm the youngest in my generation. I refuse to let my classmates to be captured." Her hands become claws and she says "I will fight until my last breath to keep my friends and mate safe." Kakashi looked at her and said "You still have yet to give him the mark." Einjeru said "I don't want him to think I'm weird." Kakashi laughed and said "If you want I'll explain it to him." She looked down and said "Fine."

Some hidden sound ninja appeared behind them. One of them mockingly said "Aw someone has a boyfriend." They turned around and Einjeru's claws were ready to sink in to some enemy flesh. Kakashi pulled out some kunai. The hidden sound ninja charged and were killed just as fast. Einjeru said "Those guys were not experienced." Kakashi says "Neither are you."

They went to the main part of the village, and saw the genin being rounded up. Einjeru charged in using the wolf style in her human form. She knocked out all of them and sliced the ropes that the genin were tied in. The look in her eyes were vindictive and cold. "Those sand and sound ninja are going to pay!" Einjeru disappeared and left the genin confused.

Naruto then said "Her switch flipped." The other genin besides Sakura were wondering what that meant. Sakura looked at her teammate. She then said "Naruto, do you know where Sasuke is?" Naruto said "Einjeru took him to the stone faces." Sakura got a relieved look on her face. The genin got ready to fight.

Meanwhile Kakashi and the other jonin were assisting the ANBU in hunting down Kabuto and Orochimaru. Kakashi kept tabs on Einjeru because he knew Orochimaru was after her. Tenzo followed suit. "Senpai, do you really think he'll try to grab her amidst all this chaos?" Kakashi hearing that replied "I have no doubts. He went after Sasuke while our guards were down. Even though the guards are up now, with all the confusion, he can try and trap her or have someone kidnap her. I had to go after her earlier." Tenzo said "Sorry senpai." Kakashi said "She's the one who defied orders, but she did it to save her classmates, so I couldn't help but to be proud."

Einjeru was running through the village making sure it was clear. After she finished, she went to join the other genin. Naruto upon seeing her was jumping up and down. Sakura smiled and the other genin were relieved. Einjeru was panting after running. "We have to get to the stone faces." They ran for it. The look in her eyes calmed and Naruto said "Better?" Einjeru said "I'll be better when we get to the stone faces."

They get to the faces and Iruka was awaiting them. They went inside and saw all of the villagers that were noncombatant or out of commission. Sakura and Naruto saw Sasuke, and went over to him. Before doing so, Einjeru whispered in their ears "I gave Sasuke amnesia, dad managed to give him most of the memories about the squad back, but it would be best not to mention the more recent stuff." They nod.

Orochimaru made it out of the village and Kabuto was right behind him. They ended up surrounded by ANBU. Kakashi and Tenzo made it in time to take them into custody. They made sure that put chakra suppression cuffs on them. Lord Third was overseeing the chunin and low jonin. He made sure that the fires were put out.

Back in the faces, Einjeru overlooked her teammates and smiled hoping that Sasuke wouldn't relapse into seeking revenge. With the memory recovery that Kakashi gave him, there's a lot of "I must become stronger" in the memories. He'll be having a lot of questions and blanks. Einjeru felt sleepy all of a sudden. Iruka comes over to her concerned. She smiles saying "I'm fine Iruka sensei. Just a little tired."

Einjeru curled up and fell asleep. Kakashi and Tenzo were looking thinking "Iruka will keep an eye on her." They disappeared and went to put out the fires in the village. Naruto noticed Einjeru curled up and went over to her. She smells him near and clings to him. Naruto looks at the pair of arms that grabbed him in surprise. He gives a cheesy grin and says "What do you know?" Iruka chuckles and says "Well it looks like you're starting to attract the ladies Naruto."

Naruto smiles and says "I guess so Iruka sensei." Einjeru's grip increased and Naruto squeaked. Einjeru smiled and nuzzled against him. Sakura still tried to win over Sasuke to no avail. A couple of hours went by and Einjeru woke up to a sea of Orange. She sat up abruptly and was blushing furiously. Naruto laughed and said "No need to be embarrassed. I didn't mind you hugging me." Einjeru said "Sorry, I'm used to a plush of you. I normally sleep with it near by. That's why I'm embarrassed." Naruto blushed hearing that.

The fires were put out in the village, and all casualties were accounted for from all villages. Lord Third says "I'm getting too old for this. I need to pick a new successor." Jiriaya appears behind him and says "So how's it hanging old man." Lord Third turns and says "We've got him." Jiriaya gets wide-eyed and said "You've got him?" Lord Third nods and says "We need someone to seal both his and his assistants chakra. The suppression cuffs only do so much." Jiriaya nods.

They disappear and the genin were spread out amongst the village to clean up. Einjeru had clones relaying instructions. Naruto had clones to reduce the workload for the most part. She looks through the scroll from Lord Third and relays the remaining jobs through her clones. She sighs.

Kakashi appeared behind Einjeru saying "Aren't you supposed to be working?" She replies "I am. I'm supervising the genin through shadow clones, as well as helping them." Kakashi rubs her head and says "Nothing's changed, has it?" Einjeru frowned. "I found myself hugging Naruto while we were still in the stone faces." Kakashi pats her head and says "You need to leave your mark on him still." Some words were forming, but they weren't coming out of her mouth.

The genin had finished their assignments for the day and Naruto caught up to Einjeru. She wanted to tell him about the mating mark, but wasn't sure how. Kakashi was watching them, and thinking "I should probably help her." Einjeru finally said "Naruto, I have something to tell you." Naruto looked at her attentively.

Einjeru started off saying "As you know I'm part wolf, and part of the gene devotes to my loyalty. When I said that I love you, it means that I'm with you for life." Naruto smiled and said "Is that all? I stick to you like glue no matter what." She smiled and continued saying "The Hatake leave a mating mark on the one they love. I'm still learning obviously." Kakashi appears in front of them and gives a smile. Einjeru rolls her eyes. Naruto thinks "What a creepy sensei." Einjeru hearing that giggled.

Naruto then says "So what you're saying is that you want to leave a mark on me?" Einjeru nods and says "I want to do that in private when the time is right." Naruto turns red and Kakashi gives a weird look. Einjeru huffed and said "That's not what I meant! I'm just saying I don't want the village seeing me do that. Gah! Why are all men such perverts?!" She stormed off leaving Kakashi and Naruto confused.

Einjeru stood on the stone faces letting the wind fly through her hair. She heard something and prepared to defend herself. Tenzo smiles and says "You're pretty good." Einjeru sighed and said "I could've hurt you." He grabs her shoulder and said "Not where you're at right now. When you're trained enough you will, but not at this stage. However, Lord Third requests to see you." She nods and flips off the faces.

Einjeru heads towards the Hokage office and knocks. Lord Third tells her to come in. She comes in and gives a small bow. Lord Third smiles at her and says "I knew I did the right thing in making you a chunin. You managed to get the genin to work properly and helped them all without doing a thing." She sighs and says "I didn't do much sir." Kakashi came in and said "Reporting in sir. Most of the residential areas have been rebuilt." Lord Third nods and says "That's good. I have a mission for the two of you. The person requested chunin rank or higher."

Einjeru looked confused and said "I just became a chunin. Shouldn't someone with more experience go?" Lord Third chuckled and said "That's why I'm sending Kakashi with you. This will give you more experience as well." Einjeru then said "What about Naruto and Sakura?" Lord Third said "They can do the D-Ranks without supervision." Einjeru sighed and said "Mission accepted."

Lord Third explained the mission and said that it needed to be done immediately and with the utmost care. Kakashi and Einjeru left immediately without a word to anyone or a trace. They sped through the forest with the utmost care. Kakashi said to her "Don't worry. The village will be there when we come back." Einjeru said "I'm confused as to why he chose me. I'm still a rookie in that regard." Kakashi smiled and said "It's because you need the experience. Technically you're the captain on this mission." Einjeru had an unsure look on her face.

They met up with the client who nit-picked about Einjeru's size. Kakashi pats Einjeru's head to make sure she didn't blow up in the clients face. She was wearing her mask so no one could see her gritting her teeth. She put her hands in her pockets and remained quiet. The client said "Not really the talkative one is she?" Kakashi smiled and said "Not when she's angry." Einjeru stuck true to that for a while.

Back in the village, most of the genin were just hanging out. Naruto was off training and Sasuke sat around the village. The ANBU were doing their job of watching Sasuke. For the first time in a long time he had a calm expression on his face. He sat down enjoying a cup of tea. He thought about the time the squad attempted to reveal Kakashi's face. He smiled and decided to call it a day.

After the traveling that Einjeru and Kakashi have been doing with the client, they decided to set up camp. Einjeru ended up taking second watch as Kakashi headed out to make his rounds. The client watched Einjeru carefully. Einjeru was nuzzled in her sleeping bag awaiting Kakashi's return. Kakashi had met up with the ANBU trailing them for a report.

Four hours later, Kakashi woke Einjeru for her guard shift. She made eight clones to go surround the area. She stuck near the camping area knowing that if one her clones popped to move. Everything seemed okay until the client pulled a kunai out of their bag. Einjeru kept a close eye on the client to make sure she didn't do anything funny. All of her clones popped simultaneously.

Einjeru appeared before them saying "We've got to move. All of my clones popped simultaneously." She shook Kakashi to no avail and finally said "I'll remove your mask if you don't get up." Kakashi shot up and said "Those are fighting words. You better watch it." Einjeru glared at him and said "We have to move." Kakashi took note of the tone that was used. He got up and killed the fire. Einjeru prepared to defend herself and the client said "Lord Third had to send the Hatake duo on this mission."

Einjeru's eye widened at the clients reaction. Einjeru then said "I knew there was something I didn't like about you. I'm glad I kept my mouth shut all day." Kakashi readied a kunai knife saying "Who are you?" The client said "It doesn't matter. All I know is that the Hidden Leaf is going to be without two of its shinobi." Einjeru replied "Fat chance of that happening!"

The client charged at them and Einjeru flipped over her saying "Come on. That speed was something I had before my academy days. You'll never catch me like that." Einjeru then kicked her thinking "This mission may have been a trap that Lord Third wanted to set off using dad and I as the bait." Kakashi then noticed that the client was knocked out.

Einjeru sighed. She came over to Kakashi and said "How weird. I wonder why the client lashed out like that." Kakashi looked at Einjeru and said "No idea. All I do know is that someone is trying to put us out of the picture." The client was out cold and Einjeru summoned Raito to run a message to the village. Kakashi tied up the client and took a close look at Einjeru.

She looked through the clients stuff and found a bingo book. Einjeru flipped through the book and her eyes widened. "How the... This shouldn't be possible. I haven't been on that many missions." Kakashi took the book from her and his eye widened. He chuckled saying "They still have you down as a genin." Einjeru couldn't care less about that. She was more concerned that she was in the bingo book.

Kakashi then said "When Raito comes back with a reply, be ready to move." Einjeru nods and says "This was one screwed up mission, and this one was my first official one as a chunin." Kakashi said "No worries. There will always be missions like this." Einjeru sighed and said "Sorry for sounding like a brat." Kakashi laughed and said "You didn't sound like a brat. If anything, you sounded unsure."

Raito returned with a message from Lord Third. They read it and Kakashi said "We have to return to the village with the client. The mission was a bust." Einjeru replied "What about her belongings?" Kakashi replied "Bring them along. It's evidence." Einjeru summoned clones and they grabbed everything. They head back to the village as fast as they can, and reported straight to the intelligence division.

At the village, the genin were sitting around talking. Naruto said "We need to train harder, so what happened never happens again." Sakura replies "How do you intend to accomplish that?" Naruto fell silent and Einjeru popped up behind him saying "He is right you know. We need to be learning new jutsu, honing the jutsu we already have, honing our strengths, and working together. The library surprisingly was untouched." The genin all looked at each other and rushed over to the library.

Einjeru went to the stone faces since the apartment building that she and Naruto stayed in was still being rebuilt. Tenzo appeared behind her saying "Shouldn't you be training?" She shot back a remark saying "Shouldn't you be helping to re-build houses?" Tenzo chuckled and sat next to her. She looked at him and said "You're not on duty right now are you, sir?" Tenzo said "You know you can call me Tenzo. I wouldn't have told my name if I didn't want you to use it." Einjeru shrugged and replied "Sorry, it's just my nature. You do outrank me."

Tenzo said "So what? I outrank Kakashi and yet I still call him senpai. Just call me Tenzo." Einjeru concedes and says "Is there a reason you're following me Tenzo? I know you were supposed to be watching me, but this is a little weird." Tenzo replied "I have been watching you, that's true, but I was also trying to figure out how to best train you through your actions."

Einjeru looks at him funny and says "Train me? You want to train me?" Tenzo nods and says "You're a quick learner from what I gathered and also a natural leader." Einjeru listens attentively and says "Why do you want to train a rookie chunin?" Tenzo replies "To be honest, this is the first and probably the only time I would do this. Probably because you are like your father is part of why I'm doing this." Einjeru nods and says "Do I call you sensei then?" Tenzo chuckles and says "Just call me Tenzo. Unless I'm undercover, just call me Tenzo. Understand?" Einjeru nods.

Tenzo stands up and says "I should get back to re-building houses and you should read up on some village history." Einjeru nods and Tenzo flashes away. Kakashi appears and says "Chit-chat with ANBU?" Einjeru says "Eh, more or less." Kakashi pats her on the back and says "No worries. I just want you to be careful walking through the village." Einjeru nods and says "If I'm not at the library, here or at the 7th training ground then there's something to worry about." Kakashi nods and says "Our apartment building is being rebuilt as we speak. You'll be able to sleep in your own bed soon."

Einjeru smiles and says "I'm not really concerned about having a bed to sleep in or a roof over my head. I'm just glad the village still stands." Kakashi smiles and says "Spoken like a true leaf shinobi. Also you know all the positives of the village history, but he wants you to read up on some of the villages top secrets so you can learn more about him. You need to see Lord Third." Einjeru looked at him and said "You were eaves-dropping weren't you?" Kakashi puts his hands up in a placating manner saying "Yes, I was, but if I didn't tell you what I did, you'd be frustrated. A ninja must see..." "Underneath the underneath, I know I know." Einjeru said.

Kakashi smiles at her saying "Don't worry, Lord Third probably already knows." Einjeru sighs and says "You're a pain at times." They both chuckle and part ways. Einjeru heads to the hokage's office and Lord Third sees her. Lord Third starts off saying "You were an excellent student when it came to the history of the village in the academy weren't you?" Einjeru smiles and says "Yes, I was."

Lord Third smiles and says "What do you know about the wood style ninjutsu?" Einjeru knew she had to tread carefully and said "I knew that it was a bloodline trait from the first hokage and that it had the power to suppress a tailed beasts chakra. I also know that one of the ANBU assigned to guard me has the trait considering that it was only the first hokage that was known to have it." Lord Third nods and says "This is very important so listen carefully." Einjeru nods.

Lord Third says "Back when you and the other genin were just mere infants or still being thought of and Kakashi was still in the ANBU Black Ops. a horrendous crime was discovered. Orochimaru who was still part of the village at the time was kidnapping infants from the village to experiment on them with the first hokage's cells. Out of sixty, one survived. However I didn't know about it until Kakashi had said something about the root division of the Black Ops. having said person. I was infuriated because that person could have stopped the rampage and Naruto could have been spared. Are you keeping up with me so far?"

Einjeru nodded and said "If that was the case, then why is Danzo still walking?" Lord Third says "You have a inquisitive mind, but one topic at a time. Now as I was saying, Even though I was infuriated, I kept to diplomacy and sent Kakashi to retrieve the person in question. It almost backfired until I intervened. He switched over to the ANBU under my direct command and has been faithful ever since. As far as I know, he didn't know what his name was and Kakashi just called him Tenzo." Einjeru then said "Why does he want to train me? There has to be more than just me being Kakashi's daughter."

Lord Third chuckled and said "Popular to contrary belief, he's grown rather fond of you. In ANBU, your emotions are to remain put away, but there are times when they show. You have a tendency to leave an imprint on people. It makes the most cold-blooded killer become warm and fuzzy. However, it doesn't work on some people. I'm going warn you. Be cautious walking around the village." Einjeru nods and says "Thanks for the history lesson Lord Third. I'll be heading out now."

In the village, Einjeru walked around cautious of her surroundings. "Someone's following me, I know that much." Einjeru thought. She heads to the library and does some reading. After she finished a history book, a person appeared from the shadows and says "You're quite the curious one Ms. Hatake." Einjeru backed off saying "Who are you?" The person says "I'm one of the elders of the village. I'm sure you at least heard my name." Einjeru fumbled around for a kunai and the person said "I'm Danzo Shimura."

Einjeru thought "I'm supposed to stay away from him." She then says "It was nice to meet you, but I need to get going." She ran out of the library as fast as she could and ran into Naruto. Naruto smiles and says "Kakashi sensei is looking for you." Einjeru nods and says "Thanks Naruto." She goes to find Kakashi. Meanwhile Naruto and Sakura meet up and she says "Can we talk?"

Naruto says "Sure, why not?" They walk around and Sakura says "Are you aware about the squad being split?" Naruto shook his head and said "No I wasn't. Also, I didn't mean to offend you in any way on our last mission. I was just trying to say that Einjeru can care less about your squabbles. She's more concerned about working as a team." Sakura nods and says "I've been doing some research." Naruto nods and says "About?"

Sakura goes into detail about the water style and how it can be used collaboratively. Naruto then says "That's good and this is what we need as a squad. I wonder if there's an open training field around so we can test it." They go to look for an open field and Einjeru was watching. She giggled and said "Finally. Now to find dad." She disappears and finds him at the apartment.

Kakashi said "I was starting to wonder where you were at." Einjeru shrugged and said "No matter. What'd you need?" Kakashi pointed at the window and said "Would you mind?" Einjeru looked trying to understand and it snapped in her brain. She then said "How did that happen?" Kakashi shrugged and said "I've been trying to figure it out myself. Either way, we need another window." Einjeru sighed and said "Oh dad."

Back at the training field, Naruto and Sakura were testing some theories. Some of them failed and they were logical while others passed that were illogical. They found themselves low on chakra and Naruto says "Well, we flooded the training ground." Sakura said "How do you figure?" Naruto replies "I may need to have things dumbed down for me, but I do understand an increase in power with a collaborative attack." Sakura then says "Okay, but how did we flood the field?" Naruto says "You do see all the water around us, right?" Sakura nods and says "Oh! Now I get it. The ground had absorbed all the water it could." They stand up and leave the field.

Naruto decided to walk Sakura to her apartment so they can talk about the past animosity. Sakura says "Those years in the academy and the real life situation were completely different." Naruto says "You have no idea. My life is the same day in and day out no matter if I was in the academy or now. The same villagers look at me with the same disdain they always had. I was happy when I paired up with Einjeru under Kakashi sensei. However, your jealousy puts everyone at risk. That's what everyone gets upset at you for. Everyone is willing to help, but you have to accept it before it can be given." Sakura said "I guess you're right Naruto. I apologize for my rotten behavior towards you." Naruto nods and says "No problem. You want to see if Sasuke's around before we part ways?" Sakura gave a small smile.

They head over to Sasuke's place and find him sleeping peacefully. Naruto decided that it would be best not to bother him. Sakura fawned over him silently and thanked Naruto for the opportunity. Naruto smiled and said "Come on it's getting late. I don't need my landlord scolding me for missing curfew." They head over to Sakura's place and Naruto says "Want to meet at the library tomorrow?" Sakura nods and heads in.

Meanwhile Einjeru is taking a garbage bag of glass out of the apartment building. "I can't believe that a window that was just put in was broken that fast. Oh well." Naruto walks by and says "Hey Einjeru! What are you doing?" Einjeru says "Taking out the trash from today's cleanup. You?" Naruto says "Extending help to my teammates. I was talking to Sakura and helping her a little bit. We also decided to go see what Sasuke was up to but he was sleep. I didn't want to bother him like I would have in the academy days." Einjeru smiles and says "I'm shocked that you didn't bother him, but I'm glad that Sakura is getting better."

Kakashi comes up to the two of them saying "What's taking so long?" Einjeru chuckles and says "Sorry, I was doing my job and then Naruto showed and we were talking about the squad." Naruto nods and says "Sakura is getting better. I was just getting here when I saw Einjeru taking out the trash." He then moves to assist her. Einjeru sighed and said "I'm beat." They head to their respective apartments and fall into a well deserved sleep.

The next day, Naruto and Einjeru head to the library and wait for Sakura. During the wait, Einjeru pulled out a history scroll and talked to Naruto about it. Sakura came in with a smile on her face. Einjeru looked and said "Where have you been? We've been waiting forever." Sakura apologized and said she went to check on Sasuke, but he wasn't at home. Einjeru then said "He's probably at the hospital for his check up. Let's go see."

They head to the hospital to see Sasuke walking out. Naruto grins and Sakura breathes a sigh of relief. Sasuke walks up to them giving a smile and saying "I was going to look for you guys." Naruto wanted to say something smart but heeded Einjeru's warning from a few days ago behind the stone faces. He then said "Are you recovering well Sasuke?" Sasuke pretends to be a bad boy saying "Whatever... idiot." Einjeru saw behind the facade and laughed. Naruto however was enraged and said "Is that how you treat a teammate that asks about your wellbeing?!" Sakura and Sasuke started to laugh and Einjeru said to Naruto "He did that to get a rise out of you. He was kidding." Naruto face-palmed and started to laugh as well.

All of sudden, Kakashi appears and says "It seems you guys are getting along after all this time." He looks at Sasuke and thinks "Sasuke seems fine. No signs of relapse." Einjeru then said to Sasuke "How are you feeling?" Sasuke says "I still have to wear this annoying neck-brace for a couple of weeks, but overall I'm fine." Sakura then says "Well that's good that you're healing. If you're up for it maybe you want to see us training or maybe get something to eat with us?"

They all looked at Sasuke for an answer. Sasuke replied "Maybe I'll go for something to eat, but seeing you guys training reminds me that I can't. I'm still trying to remember how I ended up like this." Einjeru then said "That's okay. Just don't push yourself too hard or you may make things worse." Naruto then said "Who's up for some Ichiraku ramen?" Einjeru then said "We may have invited Sasuke, but we should let him choose where we eat." Sakura then says "It doesn't matter, but I'm tired of ramen." Naruto then says "Fine." They forgot Kakashi was there amongst them while they're trying to figure out a place to eat.

Kakashi then said "Maybe Sasuke wants to rest." All of them including Sasuke looked at him like he was crazy. Sasuke then says "Maybe, but I've spent the past few days doing nothing but sleeping. The pain medicine that the doctors put me on make me drowsy. I feel like I haven't eaten in so long even though I have." Kakashi apologized and said "I just didn't want to see you guys arguing." Einjeru then said "It's up to you Sasuke."

Sasuke said to them "You wouldn't mind going to the hot springs of the village, do you?" Everyone looked at him surprised and he continued saying "I was remembering a visit to the hot springs as a squad and trying to get sensei's mask off." Everyone but Kakashi was laughing remembering that time. Einjeru says "I second the notion to go to the hot springs." Sakura then thirds it. Naruto then said "Why not? We've been working our butts off anyway, and it gives us some bonding time." Kakashi smiles knowing that they getting along.

They head to the hot springs and find it empty of tourists. They separate into the gender baths and Sakura says to Einjeru "I apologize for my rotten behavior." Einjeru smiles and says "That's okay. For the most part nowadays I've been ignoring it. Haven't you noticed that Sasuke is more mellow and talkative than before?" Sakura smiles and says "Yes I have. He also has a jokester side that was revealed when he pulled that joke on Naruto." Einjeru nods and giggles saying "He won't be on the level that Naruto is though." Sakura says "That's okay. I think on our last mission together, Naruto was mad at me." Einjeru relaxes and listens to her.

Sakura then says "I've learned more about Naruto yesterday than I have during the academy days. I always thought he was a joke pulling loser." Einjeru then said to her "That's what he wanted you to think. On the outside he's energetic and happy. On the inside, he's hurting and sad. That's the part of him that I grew up knowing. I'm the one friend that's there for him thick and thin. Not to mention I live a few doors down from him." Sakura smiled and said "So do you know what Kakashi sensei's face looks like?"

Einjeru grinned and said "I do, but I can't tell you. If I did then I'd have to kill you." Sakura then said "You're kidding right?" Einjeru then said "About the killing you, but not about the being able to tell you. My dad nearly took my hand when I tried to remove his mask." Sakura flinched at that. Einjeru chuckled and said "During the academy days I thought I was going to die with all the training I was doing. Between learning the clan techniques with dad and working on taijutsu with Guy, I was conked out before homework, yet I still managed to get it done and all correct if I do say so myself."

Sakura said "I thought I had it rough. By the way, how is it that your hair is so soft?" Einjeru shrugged and said "Never really gave any thought or paid attention to it like that. I just brush it and put into a pony-tail." Sakura nods and says "Does Kakashi sensei sleepwalk or anything like that?" Einjeru shakes her head and says "But he does have great reflexes. I told you that he nearly took my hand. He was sleeping when I tried to do that." Sakura nods and they both giggle. All the giggles were heard on the other side by the boys.

On the boys side, Sasuke was settling in the water and Naruto heard the giggles. "I wonder what they're talking about over there." Sasuke grunts and Naruto says "Do you only do this with me?!" Sasuke smirks and says "It's fun to mess with you Naruto." Kakashi comes in with a mask on his face still. Naruto and Sasuke react the same as before. Einjeru overhears the commotion and says "Those two." Sakura then says "Maybe you should tell them."

Einjeru chuckled and said "Maybe I'll let them suffer." Sakura laughs and says "I'm starting to boil. You?" Einjeru shrugged and said "I guess. I am getting a little hungry. Let's go." Naruto comes out of the water saying "Why do you torture us sensei?" Kakashi said "If you really want to know, ask Einjeru." Naruto and Sasuke flip out of the water so fast they splashed Kakashi. Kakashi chuckled knowing that Einjeru wouldn't give the secret up so easily.

Sakura and Einjeru finished getting dressed and go to wait on the boys. Naruto and Sasuke run out of the boys side almost tackling Einjeru. Einjeru looks at them in surprise saying "Hey guys. What can I do for you?" Sasuke and Naruto re-compose themselves saying "Kakashi sensei says you know what's under his mask. Tell us." Einjeru laughs at them saying "No. Not in this lifetime or the next."

Naruto falls over and Sasuke says "What is it? Some sort of big secret?" Einjeru said "That's for me to know and for you guys to never find out unless dad says it to you directly." Naruto then says "That's just cold Einjeru." She smiles and says "We have a choice of three places here at the hot springs. Where do we go?" Sasuke says "I'm not a big fan of sweets. What about sushi?" Einjeru replies "You guys can go ahead if that's the case. I'm sensitive to sushi." Sasuke then says "Then there's only one place we can go." The four of them agree and Kakashi comes out saying "Have we decided?" They all nod and head over to the curry shop.

Einjeru tries to think "Have I had curry before?" Naruto puts up a pout about ramen and Sakura says "Come on Naruto we discussed this earlier. I think Sasuke compromised a little on his part because of Einjeru's sensitivity." Einjeru waved her hands placatingly saying "I would have just waited until I got home to eat. The point of us eating together was to bond. If you want we can go eat sushi." Sasuke shakes his head saying "How are we to bond if we don't share in the food together?"

Naruto then says "What have you done with Sasuke from the academy days?" Einjeru and Sakura elbow him in the sides saying "What's the matter with you? Aren't you in the least bit happy that Sasuke is bothering to bond?" Naruto replies "I admit, I miss the cool Sasuke." Sakura says "I miss it too, but it's better than him ignoring us." Einjeru then says "You guys forget, Sasuke is right in front of us." Naruto and Sakura pale and Einjeru says "Is everything alright Sasuke?"

Sasuke nods saying "I don't remember my academy days." Einjeru thought to herself "Crap! Dad didn't put too much of the academy days back in his memory. Maybe I can fill in some of those blanks." She smiles saying "Well in the academy days, you were fawned over by most of the girls in our class. Naruto hated your guts because you would get all the attention. Not to mention, Sakura fawned over you the most. You also tied for top rookie of the year." Sasuke nods and says "I see Sakura fawning over me, but what about you?" Einjeru said "In all honesty, I couldn't stand you during the time at the academy. I hope I'm not being too harsh about it."

Sasuke nods and says "Who did I tie with for top rookie of the year?" Einjeru said "It was me. I have to ask, do you remember anything from before the academy?" Sasuke shakes his head. Einjeru put on a smile saying "It's okay." Naruto then says "He doesn't remember anything from the academy days? Oh man! It means we can tell him anything and he'd believe it!" Einjeru glares at him saying "You'd tell him a lie to make yourself feel better?! I thought you'd have grown up more than that Uzumaki!"

Sakura then says "Even though we could tell him anything, we need to tell him the truth." Naruto said "Oh come on!" Einjeru then said "I lost my appetite." Sasuke then said "I'm sorry." Einjeru felt bad and said "It's not your fault. I'll stay around, but I'm not going to eat." Kakashi sighed saying "And here I thought the squad grew closer." Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke head along to the shop. Einjeru feels bad about Sasuke and pities Naruto for the actions he was considering. Einjeru smiles thinking that she got closer to Sakura. "Maybe it's time you extended a hand to your other classmates and branched out your inner circle a little." Kakashi said to Einjeru.

Einjeru nods and follows them into the curry shop. They were sitting in a booth talking about the academy days. Sakura then said "I remember the day that we were fighting over who was sitting next to Sasuke." Einjeru said "It was undisputed because of the fact that in the academy days Naruto and I were inseparable." Naruto then says "It isn't that way now?" Einjeru blushes and says "It's a little different now."

Sasuke uses this moment to joke by saying "I always knew Einjeru liked Naruto." Sakura interrupted him with a chuckle and Sasuke starting singing "Einjeru and Naruto sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g." Einjeru giggled and said "Fine. Laugh. I don't care." Naruto said "Damn you Sasuke! Why do you have to go saying embarrassing things like that?!" They all laughed and Kakashi says "What'd I miss?"

They all look at him and continue laughing. Kakashi shrugged and said "It's getting late guys. You need to get home." Sakura then said "We were having such a good time we forgot to train." Naruto nods and Einjeru says "Sometimes training means to enjoy yourself." They all smiled and parted ways from the hot springs. At the apartments, Naruto smiled knowing that the day was good and no squabbles came to be. Kakashi was glad that the squad was finally able to bond.

The next day at the library, Einjeru was looking through the jutsu scrolls. She smiled when she found a simple lightning style jutsu. She decided it would be a good opportunity to improve her jutsu arsenal. Naruto met up with her and said "Sakura's waiting." Einjeru jumped looking at the time and apologized profusely. She took the scroll and checked it out of the library.

At the seventh training ground, Sakura and Naruto show Einjeru what they were working on a couple days before. Einjeru's mind was in overdrive thinking of ways to help them with a collaborative technique. The first thing that came to mind was chakra control. They came up to her noticing she was in deep thought. Sakura then said "Anything wrong?"

Einjeru then said "I was thinking hard about your combination jutsu. The main problem is matching the strength of the jutsu. Naruto, your chakra is through the roof while Sakura, your reserves are average. The problem for Naruto is to be able to tone the power of the jutsu down to Sakura." Sakura then said "How do you know about Naruto's chakra reserve?" Einjeru said "It's like saying how do I know so much about village history. I just do."

Kakashi appeared and said "Playing sensei for a day Einjeru?" Einjeru smiled saying "Imparting words of wisdom. Their collaborative jutsu is coming along nicely." Kakashi nods and asks if he can see. They show it to him and he says "Just as Einjeru said. Naruto, you need to tone back the power." Einjeru started looking at the scroll again and looked through the hand signs. Naruto noticed it and said "What's Einjeru doing?" They look at her and she says "Hi there. I'm learning another jutsu." Sakura comes over and says "So that's why you were late." Einjeru smiled and turned red saying "Yes, and I apologize for that."

Sakura takes a look and sees that it's a lightning jutsu. She then says "How does lightning work with water?" Naruto then says "Clones?" Einjeru nods and makes one of her own. The clones go stand on the lake and Einjeru readies a chidori. Upon striking the water, the lightning surged all over popping all of the clones simultaneously. Sakura then says "The water acts like a conductor." Einjeru nods and releases the chidori saying "It increases the attack range ten-fold."

Naruto says "It's the complete opposite for wind." Einjeru nods and says "Fire attacks increase the power of a lightning attack. Earth is weak to lightning however therefore if you have earth style chakra, you're toast." Kakashi then says "Do you guys have the basic idea?" They nod and Kakashi disappears. Einjeru decides to build up chakra and test the technique for real.

A lightning bolt crashes on the lake and Einjeru's hair was flapping. Naruto and Sakura look at her saying "What jutsu is that?" Einjeru looked and said "It's called lightning style: lightning bolt." Sakura says "I should work harder." Sasuke walked by and saw the damage to the field. He walked in and said "You guys mind taking a walk?" Einjeru, Sakura and Naruto nod saying "Where do you want to go?" Sasuke says "I don't mind walking around. I just don't want to sit around anymore." They go and walk around the village.

During the walk they ran into Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. Sasuke then says "Who are they?" Einjeru explained that Ino was one of the girls that fawned over him and that three of them are from clans that use their techniques in collaboration. Ino asks what's wrong with him and Einjeru says "The last mission we were on, he took a severe blow to the head and caught amnesia." Sakura then says "Right now we're enjoying a walk around the village. Do you want to join us?"

They nod and they keep going and walk into squad 8. Hinata shyly says hello, Kiba was overly intense with his greeting, and Shino was very quiet. Sasuke then asks who they are. Einjeru went through it very quickly describing Hinata as shy, Kiba as overly confident and Shino as a highly competent bug tamer. Sasuke nods and says "I remember Naruto's fight with Kiba in the chunin exams. He got his butt handed to him." Squad 7 laughed their behinds off and Kiba was enraged. Einjeru then explained the amnesia to them and said "He's piecing things together, so don't take it personally if he doesn't remember. They then asked if squad 8 would join them on a walk around the village. Squad 8 humbly accepted wanting to help their classmate regain his memories.

The jonin sensei were watching from a distance and were happy that they were interacting with each other. The genin/chunin decided to go to the stone faces and look over the village. Sasuke was giving off a genuine smile and the genin were surprised and saying "He's more mellow than during the academy days." Einjeru nods thinking "I actually prefer this to the old Sasuke." Sasuke kept smiling. Sakura then said "Aren't we still under curfew?" Einjeru looked at the sun and said "I don't recall Lord Third lifting the curfew. I guess we should start heading home." The jonin sensei appeared saying "You guys have been bonding well."

They all nodded and said "We were all about to head home." The sensei nod and all of the squads except for 7 dispersed. Kakashi looked at them and said "Aren't you guys heading home?" Einjeru says to him "I live with you. Naruto and I are going to be walking together, but before we head in we wanted to walk Sakura and Sasuke home. We thought you wanted to say something to us." They all nodded and Kakashi said "I'll see about keeping the squad together."

All of them smiled and walked down the stairs of the stone faces. Naruto then says "All it took was the threat of us being separated to bring us together." Sakura smiles saying "I hope we can stay together." Sasuke smiles and remains silent. Einjeru chuckles and says "I think Lord Third has a soft spot for our squad." Naruto then says "Yeah right!" Einjeru smirked and said "Well then why did he give us a C-Rank only after two weeks after achieving genin rank? He did it because of your stubbornness Naruto."

Sasuke's apartment was closest and when they got there, he noticed some mail. Naruto, Sakura and Einjeru said their good byes and made their way to Sakura's place. Getting to Sakura's place, they saw her parents. They captured her in an inescapable hug and introduced themselves. Einjeru sweat-dropped and thought "I'm so glad dad isn't this overbearing." Naruto and Einjeru head to their apartment building thinking that things were starting to get to normal back in the leaf.

Einjeru gets into her apartment and Kakashi hands her a note saying "They're instructions." She growled and glared at him saying "Why do you go through my stuff dad?! If it was a note for me then leave it alone!" She reads it and says "The forest of death? I thought we weren't allowed in that training ground." Kakashi says "Special circumstances." Einjeru sighs and grabs a bite before heading to bed.

The next day before dawn she was waiting by the entrance to the 44th training ground, aka The Forest of Death. Tenzo appeared and said "I know you guys were doing things to bond as a squad and fortify your teamwork, but I figured now would be a good time to start working." Einjeru thought to herself "I'm not going to like this." Tenzo smiles and says "Follow me."


	10. Chapter 10

Harsh Training

Einjeru followed Tenzo hoping not to encounter any of the wild life that inhabited the training ground. She starts off saying "Why are we at this training ground, Tenzo?" He threw a kunai and she dodged it just as quickly. She huffed saying "What the heck is that for?" Tenzo chuckles and says "Your reflexes. They need some work." Einjeru grumbles and says under her breath "I'd like to show you what needs work." He uses a wood style jutsu and forces her backwards.

Naruto and Sakura met at the training grounds wondering where Einjeru was. Kakashi appears and says "Unfortunately Einjeru is indisposed. I figured I might as well do my job as sensei and actually teach you guys something. You guys have actually taken the initiative and started working on collaborative techniques, but we're going to do some conditioning and work on taijutsu some." Naruto then says "We're not going to do any of that academy stuff are we?" Kakashi shakes his head and says "No, we're going to go above the academy level taijutsu.

Meanwhile Sasuke was at the hospital getting checked out again for his neck. They took the brace off and did some more healing/a diagnostic to see if anything else has taken a turn for the worse. The nurse said "That trip to the hot springs must have done wonders. Your neck has completely healed. As far as your training goes, you still need to hold off." Sasuke nods and makes his way from the hospital.

Einjeru is panting thinking to herself "Fuck! If I don't watch it, Tenzo will kill me." Tenzo chuckles and says "Your dodging isn't bad, but what if you can't dodge?" Einjeru then says "Oh hell." Tenzo ensnares her in a wood style trap. Einjeru catches her breath and says "Okay, you got me. Now what?" Tenzo replies "Yes, now how do you get out of a bloodline trait that is made up of water and earth using lightning style and not shock yourself?" She builds up lightning chakra in her hands to break the wood.

Naruto and Sakura are running around the training grounds trying to understand what Kakashi was trying to teach them. Sakura says to him "Kakashi sensei? What's the point of this?" He looks up from his book and says "You guys were wondering how Einjeru was so fast at the land of waves, were you not?" Naruto then says "I was training with her. Guy sensei was cruel in a youthful way." Kakashi then says "Then you know what's next, don't you Naruto?" Naruto hung his head and said "You're going to make us use the weights?" Sakura looks at Kakashi like he was crazy. Kakashi chuckles and says "Einjeru is blur without her weights on. It took her the whole time at the academy, but it's worth it for her."

Meanwhile Sasuke was practicing basic taijutsu at the Uchiha compound. He was taking it easy as instructed. Lord Third came up behind him and said "Quite the ambitious one to practice the basics." Sasuke nods and sits down. Lord Third observes intently saying "How are you doing?" Sasuke doesn't say anything at first and Lord Third says "That's okay." Sasuke then says "It's quite lonely around here." Lord Third nods and says "In anticipation of your recovery, Naruto and Sakura have been training hard to make sure they can keep up. I can see you're easing yourself back into things. Do you remember your elemental chakras?" Sasuke nods and performs the fireball jutsu as an example of fire style and builds up the lightning in his hands for lightning style

Tenzo smiles and says "You haven't used any jutsu. Why is that?" Einjeru replied "Academy jutsu won't help me out in this situation, most of my chakra was used in evasive maneuvers and in the lightning used to break the trap. I guess you can say I'm spent on chakra." Tenzo then says "If you have no chakra what do you do in a fight? Give up?" Einjeru shakes her head and says "No, resort to taijutsu."

Naruto and Sakura are now running around the training grounds with weights around their ankles. Sakura starts to collapse and Naruto unconsciously laps her. Kakashi appears in front of her saying "So Sakura, how do you intend to catch up? At this rate you'll have to wear these weights in your sleep." Sakura replies "When you said going above academy taijutsu, I never expected something this rigorous." Kakashi then says "Unless you want to hang around Rock Lee and Guy I'd suggest you get to work."

Sasuke is enjoying a cup of tea with Lord Third. Lord Third then says "What kind of missions do you expect to get upon returning to active duty." Sasuke says "The same old D-Ranks." Lord Third chuckles and says "I was watching you guys the other day. Do you think Einjeru was right?" Sasuke thinks about what Einjeru said about Lord Third having a soft spot for squad 7, and says "I think she was right." Lord Third chuckles and says "I appreciate your honesty."

Tenzo and Einjeru were standing in an open space of the Forest of Death, and Einjeru prepared the strong fist. Tenzo then thinks to himself "She has been training with Guy. I just hope he hasn't taught her the drunken fist." Einjeru charges, and Tenzo blocks every hit. He strikes back, and sees a weak spot in Einjeru's defense. "You leave your midsection open to attack. You can't afford that." He says before striking her in the stomach. She flies backwards into a tree.

Naruto and Sakura collapse in front of Kakashi throats burning. Kakashi takes a look at them and says "You guys better make friends with those weights. You guys have a lot of catching up to do. Now lets get something to eat." They get up and leave the training grounds. Sakura says to Naruto "I wonder what Sasuke's up to." Naruto replies "Knowing Sasuke, he's probably doing some mild training." Sakura smiles thinking the same thing.

Sasuke looks down and says "Was I really tied for top rookie with Einjeru? It's not that I don't believe her, I just want to be precise." Lord Third nods and says "Yes you were. Einjeru never steers anyone wrong. Her senses are always on the money." Sasuke nods and says "Okay. Well it's starting to get late sir. I apologize for keeping you." Lord Third shakes his head saying "It's my job to make sure that the next generation grows right. I came to see you."

Tenzo blocked Einjeru's hit again. He decided to call the training quits and take Einjeru out for some food knowing that she hadn't eaten since the morning time and it was well into the afternoon. Einjeru slumps and says "You're harsh Tenzo." He smiles saying "Well I learned from the best. Now come on. I know you're getting hungry." Einjeru followed him quietly.

Meanwhile at Ichiraku, Naruto was saying "I trained with Guy sensei a few times. He would always say something about being youthful. I kind of felt sorry for Einjeru because of that." Kakashi replies "Guess who is second best in the village when it comes to taijutsu." Sakura then says "Einjeru?" Kakashi nods and Einjeru walks in with Tenzo who still has his ANBU gear on.

Naruto and Sakura look at her and say "What happened to you?" Einjeru says "Training with an ANBU is a privilege and complete torture at the same time." Kakashi says to Tenzo "You didn't hurt her did you?" Tenzo replied "Chakra exhaustion and she built up a lot of lightning chakra in her hands. She should be fine after her hands heal." Sakura sees Einjeru's hands and says "What happened to your hands?" Einjeru looks and says "Oh, I built up too much lightning chakra in my hands that's all." Naruto then says "That's all?" Einjeru then says "Guys, I'm okay, really. Don't go psycho on me."

Teuchi then says "The usual Einjeru?" Einjeru nods and says "Hit me up Mr. Teuchi!" Her right hand has already started healing and she grabbed a pair of chop sticks from the cup. A few minutes later, the ramen came out and Einjeru chowed down. Kakashi smiles and says "Still up for our usual one-handed mountain climb?" Einjeru smiles back and says "You bet dad!"

Naruto looks at them weird and says "How can you do training to that extent?" Einjeru laughs and says "I've been doing one-handed mountain climbing with dad since I started at the academy. It helps with upper body strength. I do it with my less dominant hand which allows for me to build up the strength that it's lacking. Plus it will allow for less of a weakness that an enemy could spot while in a fight." Sakura then says "But your hand." Einjeru says "Watch my left hand as I eat." They watch it and as Einjeru ate the damage from the chakra heals itself.

Tenzo and Kakashi watch as Naruto and Sakura see Einjeru healing. Tenzo then says "Senpai, how is she doing that?" Kakashi replies "Her mother." Einjeru smiles and says "I guess I have a unique healing ability from my moms side. It really comes in handy after rigorous training." She finishes and says "I remember the first time I did the one-handed climb. I thought I was going to die."

Kakashi laughs and says "Look how much stronger you've become because of it." Einjeru replies "I know dad." Tenzo then says "I'll see you tomorrow." Einjeru nods and sighs. Naruto's eyes bug out and he says "That's really weird." Einjeru smiles and says "Well, you're weird too." Sakura laughs and Naruto whines. Einjeru blushes and hides her face in the ramen bowl.

Naruto sees and says "Is something wrong?" Einjeru shakes her head and says "No Naruto." Kakashi smiles and says "Someone really is having trouble keeping their emotions in check." Einjeru pulls her mask up and says "You're one to talk dad." Sakura then jumps in saying "Can I join you guys?" Einjeru smiles and says "I don't mind. Dad?" Kakashi smiles and says "How about we do it as a squad?" Naruto smiles and says "I am so ready!" Einjeru then said "What about Sasuke?" Naruto then said "Oh, it isn't really the whole squad without Sasuke." Sakura looks down and Einjeru sighs.

Sakura then says "I wonder how he's doing." Einjeru then said "Last I heard, his neck brace was removed. He might be at home easing himself back into things." Kakashi then said "We can go see." They head over to Sasuke's house and see him sitting and enjoying the day. Sakura smiles and Einjeru smirks saying "Don't go fan-girling on us now." Naruto chuckles and says "Yeah!" Sakura then gets on the defensive and says "I wasn't!"

Einjeru bursts out laughing and saying "I... Was only kidding!" Naruto then said "You should've seen your face!" Sakura blushes and said "That was just a joke?" Einjeru nods and says "Apparently it was a good one." They all head over to Ichiraku for some more ramen. They all talk about what to expect in training, and Einjeru starts getting dizzy all of a sudden.

Einjeru falls on the floor, and Naruto jumps next to her yelling out "Einjeru! Get ahold of yourself!" Einjeru slowly slips into unconsciousness. Sasuke and Naruto carry her to Hidden Leaf Hospital while Sakura goes to alert Kakashi. Naruto while carrying Einjeru said "She's heavier than she looks." Sasuke then says "It's her weights. Not to mention muscle is heavier than fat so..." Naruto was taking the offense saying "What are you saying? That Einjeru is fat?!" Sasuke sighs and says "Look at her arms nitwit. They're toned with muscles."

Naruto looks and shakes his head. Sasuke then says "We need to move. Her hands are turning into claws." Naruto winces and says "I've noticed." Meanwhile, Sakura is telling Kakashi about the collapse. Kakashi sighs and says "Where are they?" Sakura then said "They were on their way to the hospital. I don't know if they're there yet though." Kakashi flashes over to them and says "I'll take it from here." He sees her claws and thinks "She's sleeping..."

Naruto then says "Kakashi sensei! What happened?" Kakashi chuckled and said "Sometimes the blood trait makes her tired all of a sudden." Einjeru groans and says "Who's dragging me?" Kakashi puts Einjeru on his back saying "Your teammates were. You collapsed at the ramen shop." Einjeru groans and says "This isn't like my usual collapses. I feel funny."

Kakashi gets uncomfortable about hearing that and takes Einjeru to the apartment to rest. Einjeru is set in her bed and she falls back to sleep completely. In her mind she sees a shadowy figure. She starts backing off until she bumps a tree. The shadowy figure says "I've been waiting to meet you... Einjeru." Einjeru looks at the shadowy figure and says "Who are you and how do you know my name?"

The shadowy figure starts to look a lot like Einjeru and says "Well, you are named after me, so can you guess who I am?" Einjeru shakes her head, and the figure says "You never seen a picture of me and your dad together?" Einjeru shakes her head and the figure says "I oughta smack Kakashi for that." Einjeru looks at her confused and the figure says "I'm your mother Anjera. Einjeru is derived from my name." Einjeru looks at her in disbelief and Anjera says "Yes I am dead, but you have special blood that allows you to see me in your head when you are ready."

Einjeru got even more confused and Anjera says "You're confused about the term 'special blood' aren't you?" Einjeru nods and Anjera says "Did you really think that you were pure human?" Einjeru said "I knew about dad's blood trait and the wolf side if that's what you mean." Anjera shakes her head and says "I have a lot to explain to you." Einjeru gets a weirded out look on her face and Anjera says "Go into your wolf form."

In the apartment, Kakashi enjoys a cup of tea and Naruto comes knocking at the door. Kakashi answers and says "I should've figured you'd come." Naruto smiles and says "Of course sensei!" Kakashi chuckles and says "Einjeru is sleeping. You can come in if you want." Naruto comes in and Einjeru stirs in sleep. Kakashi then says "Do you want anything?" Naruto shakes his head and sits.

In Einjeru's mind, Anjera says "First off, your father has been lying to you to protect you. I've been waiting patiently these past 13 years to explain what happened when you were born." Einjeru looked down and said "What would I needed to be protected from so bad that I needed to be kept in the dark?" Anjera then said "The morning you were born... was the day I was killed... What did your father tell you?" Einjeru looked at Anjera ready to burst into tears saying "He told me that you died on a mission!"

Anjera smiled and said "It seems your dad wanted to make me seem like a hero in your eyes." Einjeru then said "Please tell me... I want to know the truth." Anjera then says "It was right after you were born..."

 _Flashback_ :

It was 6:45 in the morning on November 10th, 13 years ago, and a bouncing baby girl was born. Anjera was in recovery when an ANBU appeared in front of Anjera saying "We need your newborn." Anjera hissed venomously saying "Like hell I'd let you take my daughter!" The ANBU expected the reaction and had backup waiting. The ANBU that were in waiting surrounded Anjera on all sides.

Anjera was in no condition to fight, considering that she just gave birth. The baby (Einjeru) started crying and the ANBU who approached Anjera said "I have strict orders to take it from you." Anjera then said "My baby isn't an 'it'! She is my pride and joy." Einjeru cried even louder and Anjera came over to her and picked her up out of her crib.

Einjeru stopped crying and Anjera smiled. Anjera disappeared and reappeared in Lord Thirds office. Lord Third looked at Anjera in surprise saying "You're supposed to be recovering. Why are you here?" She sniffed and said "I had no choice. The ANBU were coming for her. I wasn't going to let them take Einjeru without a fight." Lord Third nods and says "Does he know?"

Anjera looked down and said "As much as I'd like for her to grow up with her father, I feel Kakashi isn't ready to meet her. I mentioned it to him subtly, but he was oblivious to it. I want him to seek her out, or her to seek him out. I hate to leave her alone, but I won't let them get her. Her last name is to remain a secret from her until it's time for her to know her heritage." Lord Third nods and says "So do you want her in the orphanage?" Anjera nods and sniffs saying to Einjeru "I'm sorry my little one, but I can't be with you. To see you grow up will be the one thing I regret not being able to do."

Einjeru whines and starts to cry. Lord Third then asks for Einjeru. Anjera hands Einjeru to Lord Third and she starts crying louder. Anjera looks at Einjeru sadly and tears flow from her eyes as she said "Farewell my daughter, Einjeru... Hatake."

 _Presently_ :

Einjeru looked at Anjera and said "Momma... why?" Anjera sighed and said "Being in root is a lot worse than being an orphan. I wanted you to grow up in an almost normal fashion." Einjeru turned away from her saying "WELL THAT NEVER HAPPENED!" Anjera was shocked at how Einjeru snapped at her the way she did. Anjera continued saying "I also know about Naruto, but this is why now is all important."

Einjeru looked at her and said "WHY?!" Anjera said "You don't notice your voice do you?" Einjeru shakes her head and Anjera continues saying "You're a wolf, but you're also a princess..." Einjeru's eyes widen and Anjera says "It's a long story. You'll find out in time. Some people are waiting for you to wake up.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Kakashi were sitting near Einjeru's bedside. Naruto was acting impatient and Kakashi sighed thinking "Please wake up." Einjeru slowly opened her eyes and had a look of disbelief on her face. Kakashi noticed and said "Something wrong?" Einjeru was just looking into space. Kakashi saw her eyes were purple and told Naruto to come back later.

Naruto was confused, but did as told, and went to find Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura and Sasuke were at the hospital. Naruto comes up to them and says "Einjeru is awake, but kind of zoned out." Sakura and Sasuke then said "Zoned out?" Naruto nods. The three of them go to walk around the village. Kakashi shakes Einjeru and her eyes go back to black. She looks at Kakashi and says "I need to train and vent." Kakashi then said "Are you okay?" Einjeru gripped the bedsheets and said "I met mom... I know you've been lying to me as well." Kakashi bows his head and says "I'm sorry... I know you want an explanation, but I don't think you're ready to understand it."

Einjeru snapped her head up saying "Do you think that I don't need to understand my mother being killed by ANBU under Danzo's command?!" Kakashi sighs and says "You really did meet her, and she told you everything." Einjeru grits her teeth and says "If my other half comes out in the village, Danzo will be after me... Mom said she didn't want me knowing of my blood for this reason.

Kakashi then said "Well no one going to lay their finger on you while I'm around. If they do they're going to meet my bite." Einjeru then said "Mom said something weird to me..." Kakashi then said "How weird?" Einjeru shook her head and said "Mom said I'm a princess." Kakashi's eye widened and he says "I need to go see Lord Third. I'll be back."

Kakashi flashes to Lord Third and says "Tell me it isn't!" Lord Third then said "It is... Einjeru is... a demon princess as Anjera was before her. The royal demon family always sent their heirs and heiresses here to the leaf for protection and training since the villages inception. However, it's gotten to the point where they're not safe in the village. Einjeru is unique because of the fact that she has your blood in her veins. She is the heiress of the Hatake clan and next one to take the demon throne. I knew you would protect her just because she's yours." Kakashi bit his mask and said "This is perfect! She's in more danger than ever because of this."

Meanwhile, Einjeru was sitting in her bedroom and the ANBU come in. Einjeru gets on the defensive, and one of them pins her on the wall. She tries to howl but her windpipe is held closed. Danzo walks in and says "And here I thought Anjera's kid was dead. Just to find she was Kakashi's subordinate. Ha!" Einjeru struggles to say that she is his daughter as well. She starts to pass out due to lack of oxygen.

Danzo gives the ANBU the order to release Einjeru's throat, and they carry her out. Kakashi returns to the room to see she wasn't there. He growls and says "They picked the wrong day to mess with the Hatake." His eye changes and sense of smell increases. He tracks down Einjeru's scent to root. He thinks "Damn it! Danzo got her!" Tenzo appears next to him saying "I apologize. I didn't get any of her distress signals." Kakashi shook his head and said "She didn't have time to set one off. She couldn't get her distress howl out either."

Einjeru wakes up unable to speak. Danzo walks in front of her saying "You have been very elusive, haven't you, demon!" Einjeru looks and sees chakra suppression cuffs on her. Einjeru whines like a puppy thinking "I'm totally screwed." Kakashi and Tenzo sneak in and observe silently. Einjeru senses them and breathes a sigh of relief. Danzo smacks her and it takes Kakashi every last little bit of self-restraint to keep from going complete wolf and ripping Danzo to shreds.

Danzo senses the the killing intent and turns to Kakashi saying "She's only your subordinate. Why do you care whether or not she gets smacked?" Einjeru forced herself to her feet and said "Because he's my dad you bastard!" Tenzo prepared his wood style and said "You kidnapped a shinobi of your own village. I cannot allow you to walk around free."

Lord Third appears and says "Danzo, you are under arrest. I can't believe you would kidnap one of the royal family and of one of the respected clans." Danzo looks at Einjeru and says "I still can't believe you cater to that!" Einjeru looks confused and Kakashi says "We'll talk about this later." Einjeru looks down and says "I really have been kept in the dark." She closes her eyes and thinks to Kakashi "Just get me out of these chakra suppression cuffs."

Kakashi comes forward and takes them off. Einjeru doesn't look at Kakashi and just walks off. Danzo disappears and Lord Third says "Find him! Bring him back at all costs!" Kakashi looks at Einjeru sadly and thinks "I'm sorry..." Lord Third says "It's a lot for her to take in. If only Anjera wasn't killed all that time ago. She really needs a mother figure in her life." Kakashi replies "A Hatake's loyalty to their mate comes at a serious price Lord Third."

Lord Third nods saying "I am aware of your fierce devotion to your mate even though she has passed. I assume Einjeru will be the same way." Kakashi nods and says "She needs Naruto more than ever now." Einjeru walks through the village thinking "I'm a total freak. Here I think I am a normal shinobi and this gets thrown in my face." Tenzo comes up and says "You're not what you're thinking."

Einjeru growls and speeds up. Tenzo uses the wood style to grab her and says "Listen to yourself! This isn't you! If you let one little moment like that get you down then you won't be able to progress as a shinobi." Einjeru shrugs and says "Well, what do you expect? What would you say if you found out what you were?" Tenzo looks at Einjeru unsure of what to say.

Kakashi came up and said to Tenzo "She needs time to process this. This is where I need step in as her father." Einjeru disappears to the stone faces. Kakashi goes to the stone faces and says "I didn't know your mother was of royal blood, and I didn't expect you to have that as well." Einjeru huffs and keeps looking out upon the village. She then says "Dad... Why am I like this?" Kakashi sits next to her said "Why are you special? Why are you my daughter?"

Einjeru sighs and says "Why am I this way?!" Kakashi pats her back and says "Because I was horny around your mother." Einjeru's eyes widen as she blushes and giggles. Kakashi then says "Don't go repeating that." Einjeru just giggles and says "I definitely got your pervertedness dad."

Lord Third comes up and says "Embracing life?" Einjeru turns towards Lord Third and nods. Lord Third says "I apologize for keeping you in the dark. I should've known that it would backfire." Einjeru then said "This isn't the end of it... is it?" Lord Third sighed and said "Danzo escaped. You need to train harder than ever." Einjeru nods and Tenzo reappears saying "I'm not going to get chewed am I?" Einjeru shakes her head, and hugs Tenzo and Kakashi.

Tenzo and Kakashi smile saying "Be prepared to kill us." Einjeru smirks and says "Bring it!" Tenzo then said "Meet me at the 44th training ground tomorrow morning." Einjeru nods and Kakashi says "Grab the squad and meet at the 7th training ground in one hour." Einjeru then says "I get kidnapped out of my room and now you want me ready to train in an hour. Tenzo is more fair than you dad."

Kakashi then says "You and I both know that you don't need much healing time. I think you're just trying to be lazy." Einjeru smirks and says "I get that from you dad." Kakashi shocks Einjeru and she gets him back saying "Two can play at that game." Kakashi laughs and says "Well you can attempt it while training, now go get them." Einjeru goes to look for them.

Meanwhile, Naruto Sakura and Sasuke are walking around the village wondering about Einjeru's condition. Einjeru strolls by them trying to get their attention, but they are oblivious to a purple, black and silver ninja walking by them. The second time she strolls by, she shocks them. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke look around for the guilty party and Einjeru stands in front of them grinning.

Naruto then says "But how? You're supposed to be in your bedroom." Einjeru shakes her head and says "It's on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know. Either way, my dad wants to see us at the 7th training ground within the hour." Naruto then replies "Come on, we were enjoying ourselves." Sasuke then says "If our sensei is requesting that we meet then we should." Sakura then said "I'm with Naruto on this one. Besides, Einjeru just got out of the hospital."

Einjeru shrugs and says "I tried that on him. He wasn't having it." They looked at her and said "You must be losing your charm." Einjeru shook her head "There's more than that. We'll discuss this later." She walks off and the three of them look at her confused. She goes into an alley and thinks "I feel so awkward. Like I don't even belong in my own body... like an outsider..."

Naruto is walking through the village and Kurama pulls Naruto into his mindscape saying " **Brat! Tell me you noticed something different about her.** " Naruto looks at Kurama and says "She seemed more socially awkward than usual. It's like she's reintroducing herself." Kurama looks at Naruto surprised and says " **I could sense it myself. I kind of read what her eyes were saying. Something happened while she was unconscious that shook her.** "

Sakura and Sasuke were walking towards the training ground and Sasuke says "Did Einjeru seem... a little off?" Sakura nods and says "She did seem a little more sensei-ish." Sasuke nodded and replied "She said less than usual... Something happened, but we need to let her tell us." His head starts to hurt and he grabs his head. Sakura notices and tries to help him.

Sasuke starts to see flashes of the past, and falls over. Sakura catches him and tries to get help. Naruto walks by them and notices. He comes up and says "What's going on?" Sasuke tries to wave it off and Naruto says "You're worse than Einjeru when it comes to hiding when something is wrong." Sasuke then says "I'm starting to remember..."

Naruto and Sakura start to get nervous and Einjeru walks by and sees them. Naruto whispers in her ear and Einjeru thinks "Now of all times... This is really bad." Sasuke looks at Einjeru and says "I remember how I got the neck injury Einjeru." Einjeru sweats badly and Sasuke continues saying "And I forgive you." Einjeru's eyes widen as her her facial expression relaxes.

They walk to the training grounds to see Kakashi waiting on them for a change. Einjeru tries to see what was going through his head and Kakashi beat her to it by telling her "Nice try, but you know better than that." Einjeru groans and the rest of them look at her and Kakashi confused. Einjeru looks down and says "What did you want from us sensei?"

Kakashi said "First of all, Einjeru, mind your attitude. Second of all, we haven't really trained as a squad in while." Einjeru groans and Naruto says "Einjeru, what's wrong? This isn't like you." Einjeru remained quiet and Kakashi thinks to himself "Damn it! She was perfectly fine until Danzo kidnapped her out of her room." Einjeru rubbed her face where Danzo smacked her.

Kakashi reveals his sharingan and looks at Einjeru's chakra and said "No wonder." He pushes his chakra into her and says "Release!" Einjeru looks around and said "What happened?" Kakashi replies "You were put under a really subtle genjutsu. What was the last thing you remember?" Einjeru then says "I remember being smacked, but after that it's a little fuzzy.

Einjeru grits her teeth and mentally berated herself. Kakashi then said "In your weakened state, he was able to take advantage of that and place you under it. It was set to alienate you from the squad." Einjeru looked down and said "I'm sorry guys." Naruto grins and says "No problem." Sakura smiles and says "Not everyone is invincible." Sasuke smirks and says "Looks like number one kunoichi isn't really number one after all."

Einjeru smirks back and says "At least I didn't have my ass handed to me repeatedly in the academy." Kakashi then said "Now that everyone is in a good mood, let's do some training." Naruto then said "We're not running around the training grounds again are we?" Einjeru then said "Or is it another bell test?" Everyone excluding Kakashi laughed. He then said "That is exactly what it is. I wanted to see how you guys are progressing as a team."

Einjeru said "This is going to be fun." Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looked at her thinking "This time we're going to work together." Einjeru looks back at them and smiles. Kakashi puts his hand up and says "Scatter!" They disappeared leaving Kakashi in the open. After they got to their hiding spots, Naruto and Einjeru made three clones a piece to go to the others."

Sakura and Sasuke in their hiding place awaited the clones. The Naruto clones made it to them. The Einjeru clones were on their way when Kakashi ambushed the main one and the clone Naruto. Einjeru was forced out into the open and the rest of the squad thought "Damn! We have to move!" Kakashi appeared reading his book and Einjeru thought "How?! I hid them! Wait a minute..." She then yelled out "Release!"

Kakashi got in her blind spot and Naruto jumped out with a kunai in hand. Einjeru thought to herself "Crap!" She then heard a pop and got out of the open. She met up with the squad and said "He's using genjutsu! Sasuke this is your time to shine." He turned on his sharingan. The squad split and Einjeru summoned her ninken to go with them.

Kakashi watching from behind the tree thought "Summoning the ninken... Nice." Naruto thinks to himself "Einjeru is really thinking ahead isn't she?" Einjeru sniffs and thinks "Dad erased all traces of his presence. The ninkens senses are higher so they will be able to point him out before we can." Sasuke looks at the rest of the squad with his sharingan to make sure no one falls prey to a genjutsu and Sakura is on standby waiting.

Kakashi appears in front of them and Einjeru grabs the White Light Chakra Saber from it's sheath. Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke pull out kunai to defend theirselves with. Naruto charges in with Sakura and Sasuke behind him. Einjeru strikes from above. Kakashi easily sidesteps Einjeru's attempt and it causes her to fall on top of Sasuke and Naruto.

Einjeru growls and says "Damn it! We almost had him!" Kakashi re-appears saying "Nice try." He disappears and Einjeru pulls the Make-out Paradise books out along with the bells. Sasuke and Sakura smiled while Naruto said "It worked!" Meanwhile, Kakashi sits in his hiding spot checking to see if he had the bells and doesn't feel them. He thinks "That little sneak." He reappears in front of them and says "It did, did it?"

Einjeru grins and says "A ninja must see underneath the underneath, right dad?" He smiles and says "Your teamwork has gotten better guys. We'll be having more of these tests so be prepared." They all nod and head out. Einjeru stands on the stone faces looking at the sunset. The wind blows through her hair, and Lord Third says "Walk with me Einjeru. I have a lot to tell you."

She follows him and they go to the barbecue restaurant. She sits and Lord Third says "I've kept you in the dark too long. It's time you learned what you truly are. There are things that even Kakashi doesn't know when it comes to your mother." Einjeru looked down and said "Why did Danzo do that?" Lord Third says "Danzo... He was my best friend once upon a time. However when I became hokage, we started butting heads. No matter this little meeting is about you."

Einjeru nods and Lord Third says "Order anything you want. It's on me." Einjeru smiles softly and orders the ribs. Lord Third then continues "Like I said, the royal demon family has sent their heirs or heiresses to the leaf for protection and training since it's inception. Your mother was next to take the royal throne making you the next heiress. However you are also the next heiress of the Hatake clan. The civilian council is going to try and force the Clan Restoration Act on you, but I already know how you're going to react."

Einjeru snorts and says "I will go into my wolf form and tear them to shreds before that happens. My mate lies in Naruto." Lord Third smiles "Like your mother with Kakashi. You take after both of them perfectly." Einjeru looks down and says "What was she like?" Lord Third "She was quite tenacious. Just like how you are now." Einjeru starts to cook the meat.

Lord Third smiles gently and says "Everyone of the Leaf is like my family. I think of you like a granddaughter. The highly adventurous one who always gets in trouble unintentionally. Naruto, I think of as the mischievous troublemaking grandson." Lord Third chuckles and says "You are probably one of the strongest in your class group." Einjeru sighs and says "I feel so awkward now... Like I don't belong... Like the freak that the village made me feel like when I was younger."

Lord Third hugs Einjeru and says "You are unique." Einjeru then says "I want to cry so badly, but I don't want to make a scene." Lord Third says "Even the toughest ninja sheds some tears every now and then." Einjeru sniffs and says "I can't... I can't." She starts to cry and Lord Third pats her back. She just cried. Lord Third smiled and said "I haven't seen you cry like this in years."

Einjeru stops and dries her tears saying "I try not to do it in front of anyone." Lord Third smiles gently and says "Well it isn't good on a mission, but you need to release those emotions." Einjeru nods and finishes her food. Lord Third then says "Your mother wanted me to give this to you when you were ready." He pulls out a scroll with a blood seal on it.

Einjeru bites her thumb and presses her blood onto the seal. The scroll released and Einjeru read the letter. Lord Third then said "I'm getting ready to pass the torch and retire." Einjeru looked at him and said "But Lord Third! Someone might try to take advantage of that and attack the village." He smiles gently and says "Jiriaya wants to take Naruto and retrieve Tsunade." Einjeru looks at him and says "As in of the sannin aka his former teammate who left the village after her brother and lover died in the war?" Lord Third nods and says "Also, I want to put you under Tenzo. You won't be an ANBU, but you won't be on normal chunin duty."

Einjeru looks at Lord Third confused. He chuckles and says "It's a protection measure, but he will be your mentor and help you out. Aren't you supposed to meet him early tomorrow?" Einjeru realizes it's late and says "Oh shoot! I'm going to oversleep now!" Lord Third then said "I'll let Tenzo know." Einjeru nods and finishes her food. Lord Third walks her to the apartment and goes back to his office.

Einjeru goes in her bedroom and reads the note in it's entirety. Einjeru reads "Einjeru, if you are reading this then you have met me inside of your mind already. By reading this, the hokage has deemed you worthy of awakening your full power. Again I apologize for not being able to watch you grow into the young lady that you have become, but I always intended to make up for it. Within a few days of reading this, I will appear in your mind again and ask you if think you can handle it. It will take three years to hone the power, but then again you are mine and Kakashi's daughter so you might be able to reduce the time some. I'll see you soon, mom"

Einjeru sighs and goes to sleep. Kakashi walks in to check on her and sees the note. He frowns and says "My little girl isn't so little anymore. She is going to have to meet her mother physically soon." In sleep, Einjeru starts to twitch and her hand tenses. She wakes up breathing heavy and thinks "What was that?" She looks at her hand and sees blood. She screams out trying to understand how.

Kakashi comes in and sees. He uses his sharingan to put Einjeru sleep so he could patch her up. Einjeru ends up in her mindscape and Anjera appears saying "The nightmare you had... it caused physical damage. Are you okay?" Einjeru shakes her head and tries to stand. She falls backwards and Anjera catches her and thinks "Stubborn, just like your father."

Kakashi finishes the bandaging and finds himself falling asleep. He appears in Einjeru's mindscape and said "Where am I?" Einjeru jumps and says "How did you enter my mind?!" He smiles and says "I was tending to your wounds and I fell asleep. Next thing I know I'm in your mind." Anjera comes up to him and hugs him. Kakashi blushes and says "I really missed you..."

Anjera smiles and says "I'm glad she was able to meet you. To be honest I was nervous about that." Kakashi then said "Be grateful for Lord Third. He set that into motion." Einjeru then collapses clutching her stomach. Kakashi and Anjera look at her and said "What happened in her dream must've been serious." Kakashi then sees markings on her arms and points them out.

Anjera looks and her eyes widen. She then says "She has to be brought out of the village. This will cause ruin if we don't take care of this." Kakashi then says "I can't just leave." Anjera growls and says "If you don't, you'll lose both your daughter and the village!" Einjeru then says "I'm sorry... but 13 year old chunin in distress here." Anjera looks at Einjeru and at Kakashi and sighs. Kakashi rubs his head and says "We have to take care of this don't we?" Anjera nods and says "Wake up."

Kakashi wakes up and sees he was holding Einjeru's hand. She was curled up in pain and the marks he saw in her mindscape spread. She screamed out in pain and Kakashi thought "Even though I need to get her out of the village, where do I take her?" Anjera's voice popped in his head saying "Go to the Akuma no Hauringu (Howling Demons) mountain range."

Kakashi nods and leaves a clone to let Lord Third know. He flashes out of the village holding Einjeru close. Her eyes slowly open and looks at him saying "Dad?" Kakashi nods and says "Stay still." Einjeru then says "Where are we?" Kakashi replied "Somewhere where we can get your pain under control." Einjeru tenses holding Kakashi's hand tightly.

When they got there, they saw a glow and Kakashi was unsure of what to do. Anjera said "Walk through." Einjeru started glowing and reached out for the glow. Kakashi starts walking through and feels his wolf ears perking up. He then senses Anjera thinking "It's impossible... She's..." Anjera completed Kakashi's thought saying "Dead?" She stood behind him, smiling.

Kakashi turned around and noticed Anjera looking different. Anjera then said "I guess I owe you an explanation, but in due time. Einjeru needs to be taken care of." Kakashi hands Einjeru off to Anjera. Lightning flashes outside the cave, and Einjeru loses consciousness. Anjera smiles thinking "Just like a baby..." Kakashi then says "Take care of our daughter. I've got to go back to the village." Anjera nods. Kakashi starts heading back to the village.

Back in the village, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura sensed something amiss. Lord Third nodded to the Kakashi clone which popped to let him know that the message was delivered. Naruto goes to Kakashi and Einjeru's apartment to find no one there. Kakashi comes up and says "What are you doing here Naruto?" Naruto then asked about Einjeru and Kakashi had to come up with a lie on the fly saying "Lord Third sent her on an urgent mission that required her to leave immediately."

Naruto says "Oh... Well what about you sensei?" Kakashi smiles and says "She's a chunin now. She no longer needs a jonin sensei to watch over her." Naruto replies "That is right... Well I better go to Ichiraku. I think I've grown reliant on Einjeru's cooking." Kakashi smiles and says "You actually have been eating something other than ramen? I'm shocked." Naruto smiles and says "I even eat the vegetables. Einjeru makes everything taste so good." Kakashi smiles and says "Come on. Let's get some Ichiraku."

At Ichiraku, Kakashi and Naruto sit down and Teuchi says "It's been a while. Einjeru run out of food?" Naruto blushes and says "She went on a mission and I just ran into Kakashi sensei." Teuchi smiles and says "Okay. The usual?" Naruto nods and says "Hit me up old man!" Kakashi smiles and thinks "You're just like your mother Naruto." Teuchi served the ramen, and Sasuke came in saying "I should've figured you'd be here."

Naruto then said "Join us Sasuke!" Sasuke smiled and said "Sure." Sakura then came in and said "Hey guys." Kakashi gives a lazy wave and gestures for Sakura to sit. Sakura then says "Where's Einjeru?" Naruto fills in the blank saying "Sent on an urgent mission. She'll be back soon." Sakura then remembered that Einjeru was chunin. Kakashi smiles and says "What brings you guys here this late?"

Sasuke was hesitant to say what was on his mind and Sakura said "Something felt off to me so I came here thinking maybe you guys would be here." Sasuke was shocked that she was thinking what he was. Kakashi then said "Well, I guess Ichiraku is our unofficial meeting place." Jiriaya walks in and says to Naruto "Hey brat! How would you like to go on a training journey with me?"

Naruto then said "Why would I go with you, Pervy Sage?!" Jiriaya then said "I'll teach you an even more awesome technique than summoning." Naruto's face lit up and he said "Really?!" Kakashi chuckled and said "I have to meet Lord Third early. Good night guys." All of them nodded. Kakashi went back to his apartment and Tenzo appears saying "You look stressed senpai."

Kakashi then said "I am... I found out something about Einjeru that has been making me nervous." Tenzo then said "Her royal blood?" Kakashi looks at him and Tenzo continues saying "Lord Third let me know and made me her guardian when you aren't around. He also let me know of her current whereabouts. You worry too much senpai." Kakashi looks at Tenzo and says "Maybe, but I'm nervous that I'll lose her."

Meanwhile, Anjera lies Einjeru down and says "This is going to be rough. Please forgive me." Einjeru's eyes partially open and Anjera says "So you're awake?" Einjeru finds herself unable to move and says "Mom? But you're dead." Anjera smiled and said "Technically I am, but I'll explain it to you and your dad later." Einjeru nods and says "You look different than when you greet me in my mind." Anjera nods and says "You're going to be in for a rough night."

Naruto, meanwhile was finding it hard to sleep. Sakura and Sasuke were in their beds sound asleep. Naruto goes to Kakashi who was having trouble sleeping as well. Kakashi looks at the pictures of him and Einjeru together and of the squad together. Naruto knocks on the door and Kakashi says "You too huh?" Naruto nods and asks to come in. Naruto says "I remember the day we took our squad photo... it seems so long ago."

 _Flashback_ :

It was the day after Kakashi passed squad 7 and they were to take a squad photo. Einjeru starts off saying "Why are we doing this?" Kakashi chuckled and said "We're doing it for the same reason my old squad did it. For posterity." Naruto says "You act you don't want to." Einjeru then says "Have you seen all of the pictures that my dad and I have taken together? I've taken so many pictures that I have enough to span over 20 lifetimes."

Kakashi smiles and says "You act like you don't want to relive those moments." Sasuke huffs and says "I still don't see why." Sakura says "I've always wanted to take a picture with Sasuke." Naruto and Einjeru groan in annoyance. Kakashi then puts his hands on Einjeru and Naruto's shoulders while they stood on the outside of the formation. Sakura and Sasuke stood on the inside with Kakashi behind them. They all faced the camera with smiles on their faces, except Sasuke.

 _Presently_ :

Kakashi laughed and said "It does seem like that, doesn't it?" Naruto then said "We've changed a lot in a short amount of time huh sensei?" Kakashi nods and says "How do you feel about Einjeru?"


	11. Chapter 11

Confessions

Naruto looked at Kakashi confused and said "What did you say?" Kakashi repeated the question and added "Your answer will influence what I say next." Naruto thought about it and said "I'm not sure... At first I always thought of her as my best friend, but now all I can think about is her. I mean sure I think of Sakura and Sasuke but not like Einjeru." Kakashi smiles and says "You know her feelings for you are pure and true, so it is important that you listen to me carefully."

Meanwhile, Anjera was prepping Einjeru to relieve her of her built up power. Einjeru whines in pain. Anjera says "I'm going to bind you." Einjeru thrashes trying to get up. Anjera sighs and says "You really are stubborn... 1. 2. 3. Bind!" Einjeru screams out in pain saying "This hurts!" Anjera then said "If you weren't so hardheaded it wouldn't hurt so much."

Kakashi starts off saying to Naruto "Einjeru isn't your typical, run of the mill shinobi." Naruto nods and says "She isn't pure human." Kakashi nods and says "Well she's more than you know. She's a princess." Naruto looks at Kakashi like he's crazy. Kakashi looks at him and says "I'm not pulling your leg Naruto. She is a princess on her mom's side."

Einjeru cries in pain. Anjera sighs and says "I'm sorry... I know it hurts, but bear with it." Anjera starts to hear Einjeru's heartbeat and sees the markings starting to glow. "It is time..." Anjera thinks while hitting Einjeru's vital areas. Einjeru coughed up blood and said "Isn't there another way?" Anjera looks at her and says "Your blood is stirred. It has to be removed and purified."

Naruto's mouth drops and he says "How?!" Kakashi shakes his head and says "That involves history that goes back to the beginning of the leaf." Naruto then says "Einjeru's bloodline trait?" Kakashi looks at him and says "She has more than one. The Hatake are descendants of wolves, but we also carry white chakra. Her mother's side involves something I can't dive into much because I just don't know."

Einjeru growls and says "I swear mom! Stop it!" Anjera sighs and says "It has to be done." Einjeru starts to pass out from lack of blood. Anjera breathes a sigh of relief and slumps in a corner thinking "Now she can heal..." Einjeru is breathing heavy, her chest rising and falling slowly.

Naruto then says "Errm... Kakashi sensei? Do you feel a change in the air?" Kakashi sniffs and says "It's going to rain soon." Naruto nods and yawns saying "I think I'm starting to feel sleepy." Kakashi smiles and says "You can sleep in Einjeru's room tonight." Naruto yawns and replies "I can make it back to my apartment, but thanks Kakashi sensei." Kakashi sees Naruto out and goes to lay down.

The next morning, Kakashi wakes up and decides to go check on Einjeru. Einjeru was still sleep and Anjera comes into the room to see that Einjeru had relaxed. Kakashi appears in the doorway and says "How is she?" Anjera was slightly annoyed that he appeared like he did but said "She's fine. The method was crude but she's perfectly fine." Kakashi then said "You look like you haven't slept a wink."

Anjera shook her head and said "It was time consuming and Einjeru was fighting me for part of the time." Kakashi sighs and says "I wish I could've been here. When she fights with the nurses in the hospital, I'm normally there to calm her." Einjeru's eyes twitch and slowly open. Kakashi walked up to her and said "Welcome to the land of the living."

Einjeru coughs and says "Can't... Move..." Anjera then releases the bind saying "It was the only way to stop your thrashing without your father around." Einjeru frowns and says "So what happened last night wasn't a dream. I was really fighting with you." Anjera tucks Einjeru's hair back and says "It was more like you were fighting the pain." Kakashi smiles and says "Don't worry about it."

Meanwhile, Naruto gets ready to head out with Jiriaya to bring back Tsunade. He grabs just about every cup of ramen he has and heads out to the gate. Jiriaya smiles at Naruto and says "What happened to you this morning kid?" Naruto replied "Rough night. Couldn't sleep." Jiriaya laughs and says "You have Einjeru on the brain!" Naruto turns red and says "Shut up Pervy Sage!"

Kakashi and Anjera meanwhile are talking about Einjeru's wellbeing. Anjera is trying to see things from Kakashi's point of view regarding Einjeru's need to be in the village. Kakashi says "You're just seeing her for the first time in her whole life that she can remember. I've been taking care of her for over 7 years now. I'm surprised that she doesn't resent either of us." Anjera then said "I know that, but her wellbeing needs to come first. If she doesn't get herself under control, she'll become a danger to everyone including herself."

Naruto and Jiriaya are on their way to the gambling town where Tsunade was spotted and Naruto starts to fall asleep walking. Jiriaya sees this and says "All right we'll take a break at this hot springs town coming up." Naruto wakes up and says "Why are we stopping?" Jiriaya nods and says "You need to rest." Naruto replies "I'm perfectly fine..." and falls asleep.

Einjeru forces herself to sit up and thinks to herself "Why couldn't I just be normal and fit in with my classmates getting the average grades? Why do I have these latent powers?" Kakashi hears these thoughts and says to Anjera "Do you hear her thoughts?" Anjera looks at him and says "Do you?" Kakashi nods and says "She's hurting mentally. I want to hurt Danzo myself. She was perfectly fine until he kidnapped her."

In the room, Einjeru is crying and thinking "I hate this!" Kakashi sensed a tension and ran into the room. Einjeru looked at him teary-eyed, and Kakashi walks to her. Anjera releases a low growl and goes to look for something to hit. Einjeru sits on the bed sniffling and says "Why... Why me?" Kakashi hugs her and says "Just the unfortunate luck of the draw. However I wouldn't take any of it back for the world."

At the hot springs, Naruto goes into his room and sleeps, while Jiriaya goes and peeps. However, Tsunade and Shizune were in the baths. Jiriaya notices them and runs to the room. Naruto was sound asleep and a knock was heard. Jiriaya hides in the bathroom. The knock sounded again and Naruto woke up to answer it. Naruto sees Shizune and she says "I apologize. You must've been sleeping. Did a man with white, spiky hair come in here?"

Jiriaya was hoping Naruto didn't notice him sneaking in the room. Naruto shakes his head saying "I just woke up, but if I see him I'll let you know, miss... I'm sorry I don't know your name." Shizune then says "Oh! I'm sorry, I'm Shizune, and you are?" Naruto says "The name's Naruto Uzumaki!" Shizune looks at him and thinks "This is the fourth's legacy? He reminds me of his mother." Shizune nods and says "Thank you Naruto. I hope to see you around." Naruto closes the door and goes back to bed.

Kakashi helps Einjeru out of bed and says "If you need me I'll be finding your mother." He leaves Einjeru to her devices and goes to find Anjera. Meanwhile Anjera was beating on a rock. Kakashi came up behind her and she said "When were you going to tell me that she was kidnapped out of her bedroom Kakashi?" He snarled and said "You think I was holding out on you with that? I wasn't able to tell you because of the situation."

Back in the village, Sakura went to go see if Sasuke wanted to train, but Sasuke using the day as a reprieve and Sakura respected that by going to see if Ino was around and ended up hanging with her for the day. They all went for something sweet and both figured they didn't want to waste the day, so they decided to go to the training ground to spar.

Einjeru stood in the room looking in the mirror and said "Who am I?" She saw a flash and fell backwards. She then coughed up thinking "What was that?" Kakashi was upset and said "When I last checked I didn't even know about her at first. You need to come clean Anjera. Your secrets are doing more harm than good at this point." Einjeru is grabbing her head thinking "What is going on?"

Anjera then says "Did you leave her alone?!" Kakashi then said "It's not like she needed to hear what we were talking about." Anjera growls and says "That's not what I meant you dumb ass wolf! She's not to be left alone!" They run to the room to see Einjeru sitting on the floor holding her head. Kakashi lifts up his headband and Anjera says "You are not putting her under a genjutsu to calm her down!"

Kakashi snaps saying "Who says I was? She calms down when I look at her with both eyes open." Anjera sighs and Kakashi kneels down in front of Einjeru and says "Einjeru look at me." Einjeru looks up and sees both Kakashi and Anjera. Einjeru then says "I think I would've preferred being in the dark." Kakashi smiles and says "You probably would've been told eventually. I know you don't like this but you have to get this under control. Apparently it's gotten to a point where you're a danger to yourself as well."

Einjeru looks down and Anjera says "Way to be blunt about it." Kakashi growls and says "How did we end up mating again?" Anjera says "Your horniness and being drunk." Einjeru hisses and puts her arms up in a cross saying "Not in front of me!" Kakashi looks at Einjeru and says "When did you become a cat?" Einjeru looks at him funny and Anjera fills in the blank saying "She has to ability to mimic other demons powers and behaviors. I'm not surprised."

Kakashi thinks to himself "Great. Now Einjeru has split personalities." Einjeru sighs and says "I'd appreciate if it you guys wouldn't fight... or talk about that kind of stuff in front of me." Anjera then said "Well, I was looking through some stuff and found something that may put you both in shock." Kakashi looks at Anjera and says "Like what?"

Anjera then says "You know your wolf genetics right Kakashi?" Kakashi nods and says "What does this have to do with anything?" Anjera then says "I was looking through some lineage scrolls and they go all the way to you." Kakashi's visible eye widened and Anjera continued saying "The wolves that the Hatake descended from are demons." Kakashi then said "My father?"

Sakumo comes in and Kakashi becomes petrified. Einjeru sees this and snaps her fingers in his face. Anjera says "I knew this was going to happen." Sakumo then says "It has been 20 years since I technically died. Einjeru growled and said "What the hell?! First my mom and now my grandpa?! Mom you owe us answers!" Anjera said "First of all, calm down because you're going to get those answers. Second of all, mind your manners."

Sakumo then sees the White Light Chakra Saber in the corner and notices the silver straps saying "Who put the silver straps on the holster?" Einjeru said "I did..." Sakumo smiled and said "Nice touch." Einjeru shrugs it off and says "Well, it is one of my favorite colors and it goes with my outfit." Sakumo smiles and says "Well, I assume you know how to channel the chakra into it then."

Einjeru takes the sword of the holster, channels the chakra into it, and slashed the bed. While slashing, the sword had a flash of white chakra behind it. The bed had a clean cut and Einjeru said "Piece of cake." She then pokes Kakashi and he comes out his trance. Sakumo then says "You've trained her well." Kakashi looks at Einjeru and said "Well she does have my genes."

Sakumo in reply says "You're in no position to brag." Kakashi looks at Sakumo and says "You kill yourself 20 years ago and say I'm in no position to brag?" Einjeru huffs and walks out the room. They look at her and think "What's bugging her?" Einjeru meanwhile is growling thinking "They think they know best yet I am the only one not arguing with the other."

Kakashi comes up behind and says "Why do you insist on going off on your own?" Einjeru snarls and says "Why do you guys insist on arguing about me?!" Kakashi was shocked and said "We only want what's best for you." Einjeru huffs and says "I was perfectly fine until I was told about the true nature of my blood." Kakashi kneels down and says "The truth was bound to come out eventually. It would be better that it came out now while you're young enough to tame the power."

Sakumo and Anjera were watching from a distance and thought "Kakashi has been taking care of her the most. He knows her actions the best." Kakashi hugs Einjeru and says "I would never let anything or anyone harm you. I will die before I let that happen. I swear if I see Danzo he'll be sorry." Einjeru sniffs and says "Get in line pal. I want to get back at him for smacking me, and I intend to deliver it a thousand fold."

Sakumo then comes up saying "Oh really?" Einjeru looks at him and says "I hate when people eavesdrop." Sakumo smiles and says "Well, a female born Hatake is rare. However a Hatake with black hair has never been known of." Einjeru grunts and grabs her head. Sakumo looks and Kakashi yells "Dad! What the hell?!" Sakumo replies "I didn't do it."

Silver streaks appear in Einjeru's hair. Anjera came up and said "Sounds like Einjeru's inner demon heard you." Einjeru stops and says "Thanks grandpa..." She disappears and Kakashi was pissed. "Just as I calmed her down and was getting her to come back, you say that! Damn it dad! Now I have to go retrieve her!" Kakashi disappears and Anjera says "He really needs to stop babying her." Sakumo said "How was I supposed to know?"

Anjera said "If she's anything like me, she lives to please and her inner demon will try and accommodate." Sakumo replies "Oh..." Anjera then says "She's going to have to get used to her silver streaks. Silver is her favorite color so she'll get over it." Sakumo nods and says "It's a common Hatake trait." Anjera shakes her head and says "She's not your common Hatake, so there's bound to be differences." She pulls out a box and says "Her marks are on her arm..."

Einjeru is walking around grumbling "Stupid grandpa..." Kakashi came up to her and said "Are you okay?" Einjeru shakes her head and says "Hello?! Do you not see silver streaks of hair?!" Kakashi says "It isn't unusual all Hatake have silver hair." Einjeru growls and says "You, mom and grandpa are getting on my nerves." Kakashi shakes his head and says "Deal with it." He sees her arm and says "What are you going to do about your arm?"

Anjera came up behind them and said "Cover them." Einjeru huffs and says "Why should I?" Kakashi decided to stay out of this one and backed off. Anjera said to Einjeru "You already have people after you. It would be wise to listen to what I have to say." Einjeru growls and says "You left me alone for most of my life! Why would it be wise? I barely know you!"

Anjera then says "I thought you'd at least have an open mind." Einjeru then says "I'm just a kid. I'm still going to have these types of thoughts." Anjera then said "If you're calm enough, I'd like to explain why I am physically around." Einjeru remains quiet. Anjera then said "After I left you with Lord Third I ran out of the village to try and evade the ANBU that were after me."

 _Flashback:_

Anjera ran out of the village diverting the ANBU. The ANBU surrounded her on all sides and said "Where's the baby?" Anjera spat at them and said "I'd never tell you where she is! I'd rather die before I told you that!" The lead gives the signal and the rest of them attack with their most lethal attacks. After the last attack, Anjera loses consciousness thinking "Grow strong my baby."

Anjera wakes up later in a cave thinking "Ok, I know I died, but why am I alive?" An elderly voice sounds saying "I guess it is time to pass the throne to the next generation." Anjera sits up and sees she's in her animal form. "What's going on?" She says. The elderly voice sounds from an elderly looking fox at the back of the cave saying "Did you forget what I taught you, my daughter?" Anjera jerks her head and says "Dad?" The fox nods and says "You did die, or should I say your human form died. Your animal form lives on."

Anjera then said "What does that mean?" Anjera's father replies "When a demon's human form dies their animal form lives on in nature never to be noticed unless by another demon." Anjera looks down and says "I did something horrible..." Her father looked at her and said "Hmmm... You do seem down. Want to talk about it?" Anjera looks at him and says "I mated, had a kid and now she's on her own."

Her father says "Well at least you mated and produced offspring. Does your mate know?" Anjera shakes her head saying "I tried hinting it to him, but he was oblivious to it." Her father says "Ok, well when she's old enough to start taming the other side that is when you get involved. Anjera then said "How will I know?" Her father replies saying "You'll be able to sense her spirit. Also, her scent never changes."

Anjera sighs and her father says "It's time for me to go into the next light." Anjera says "How?" Her father smiles and says "As the next heir phases in, the current demon ruler phases out. The throne goes to you now Anjera." His animal spirit disappears and Anjera sniffs thinking "I'm not ready... I'm only 14." Her fathers voice says "No worries. Trust in your intuition."

 _Presently_ :

Einjeru then says "Well that explains a lot... But what about grandpa?" Anjera replies saying "If you were paying attention earlier, I said that I was looking through lineage scrolls and discovered that the wolves that the Hatake descended from are demons." Einjeru sighs and says "No wonder why I'm like this." She yawns and Anjera smiles saying "I guess your fits made you tired huh?"

Kakashi smiles and says "Go rest. You need all of the energy that you can get." Einjeru was already sleep by the time he said it. He and Anjera look at her thinking "She's just perfect." Kakashi carries Einjeru to the bed and Anjera starts off saying "I wanted be involved so badly, but I did what I had to do thirteen years ago to ensure that she got to grow up in the light of the village instead of the dark."

Kakashi tucks a piece of Einjeru's silver streaks back and says "She may as well have been living in the dark. Part of her embraces it." Anjera nods and says "That's why I'm worried." Kakashi chuckles and says "It's kind of fun raising a kid and having a quartet of genin." Anjera giggles and says "It must be... I miss the Hidden Leaf." Kakashi looks at Anjera and says "A lot has changed. A new hokage will be installed soon."

Anjera sighs "Lord Fourth's son... He's Einjeru's..." Kakashi nods and says "They are." Anjera smiles and says "I assume he's aware?" Kakashi nods and says "I told him as much as I knew. I think they're linked to each other in mind and spirit." Anjera looks down and blushes saying "That tends to happen when mates find each other." Kakashi starts to blush and says "Why am I blushing?"

Anjera chuckles and says "Because I am." Kakashi looks at her and says "So you are." Anjera stops and says "When she wakes up, she's going to be ornery." Kakashi says "She's always ornery, and picky." Anjera then says "So? You were like that once upon a time." Kakashi shakes his head and says "Yeah, but Einjeru is..." Anjera completes the sentence saying "Like me?"

Kakashi nods and says "She takes more after you than you care to take credit for." Anjera smiles and says "Well girls are quite the tough ones." Kakashi chuckles and says "She's a fighter." Anjera sighs and starts sweating. Kakashi notices and goes over to her. Anjera says "She'll be waking up soon, and we'll need to be well rested. A whole new side of her will awaken."

Kakashi says "You don't look too well." Anjera shakes her head saying "I haven't slept." She goes to her room and Kakashi goes to sit with Einjeru. He falls asleep and Einjeru starts to growl. She grips the blanket and bares her teeth. Anjera lies in bed and thinks "I haven't been like this since last month." Einjeru growls louder waking Kakashi. He looks at her and his eyes widen.

Anjera senses Kakashi in shock and runs to the room. "No wonder why I was feeling weird. It was Einjeru." She says. Kakashi replies "Do we wake her?" Anjera shakes her head and says "We have to enter her mindscape." Kakashi was confused and Anjera grabs his hand saying "I know you're scared, but we have to do this together or risk losing her." Kakashi looks down and sniffs.

Anjera looks at him and says "Are you thinking about Obito, Rin and Minato sensei?" Kakashi nods and says "Every time I let someone close to me, something always happens to them." He lets go of Anjera's hand and continues saying "You, dad and Einjeru are the closest; yet dad killed himself in disgrace; you were killed at the hands of Danzo's men; and Einjeru is in danger because I'm too scared to help. It's not fair!"

Anjera smacks Kakashi across the face saying "I didn't fall in love with a weakling! Get yourself together Kakashi Hatake! I fell in love with you because you were able to pick up the pieces and continue on. Now we have to go inside of her head and pull her out of her darkness before she gets lost in it completely and we lose her!" Kakashi rubs his mask and says "That hurt... I guess I deserve it." He pulls down his mask and smiles saying "We better get to work and bring her back." Anjera sees a red hand mark on Kakashi's left cheek and looks down in embarrassment.

Kakashi puts her hand to his cheek and says "It's okay." Anjera smiles and says "Let's get to work." They both put their hands on Einjeru's forehead and focused. Kakashi saw what Einjeru's life was like before he came into it upon touching her head. Meanwhile, current Einjeru was sitting in a dark corner of her mind crying.

A sinister voice sounds off saying "You're just a weak little girl. You always look to daddy for approval." Einjeru yells out "It's not true! It's not." The voice retorts "Oh really? What was life like before he came into your life?" Einjeru sniffs and says "Please don't. I don't want to go back to that. I spent the last seven years putting it behind me." The voice laughs and says "Your past comes with you no matter what. Your past makes you what you are today, which is a scared little girl and you don't want to face it because you know it's true."

Kakashi sees her time in the orphanage and thinks "If only I had known." Anjera looks at Kakashi and smiles saying "Now we can truly get to know her." They hear screaming and turn around thinking "That sounded like Einjeru." They ended up seeing the day that Einjeru tripped over Kakashi's leg. Kakashi smiles and says "I'm glad Lord Third sent me after her."

The voice manifests itself into a person and says "It looks like daddy came in to save you." Einjeru sniffs and says "I'll take care of you before he can even make it to me." The voice then said "Try. You won't get far." Einjeru growls and says "I'll show you who's scared!" She took off her headband and got into her stance. The voice laughed and said "It's your funeral brat."

On the outside, Einjeru gripped Kakashi and Anjera's hands. On the inside, Einjeru weaved the signs for chidori and lightning shown from her right hand. The voice just chuckles and says "I'm your dark half. I can anticipate your moves before you make them." Einjeru growls and says "It's worth a shot." She charges in and her dark half dodges all of the attacks.

Einjeru's dark half laughs and says "I told you so." She gets behind Einjeru and puts her in a choke hold. Einjeru struggles for breath and thinks "Am I really that weak?" Her dark half says "What a pity. You are quite strong, however, you can't expect to win a fight against yourself when you don't know yourself." Einjeru tries to break the grip to no avail.

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Anjera are going through Einjeru's memories and Kakashi says "This gets us nowhere. A lot of her memories after I met her have me in them." Anjera replies "Her memories are the key Kakashi. Einjeru relies on this." Kakashi sighs and says "I know, but I'm anxious. We're getting closer to the present and her inner physical form has yet to be seen." Anjera nods and says "We're almost there."

Einjeru is almost on the verge of passing out and her arms fall limp. Her dark half laughs and says "You're weaker than I thought." Einjeru replies "You fight dirty... I fight with dignity and honor!" Her arm starts to glow and her dark side jumps back hissing. Kakashi and Anjera get there in time to see.

Einjeru collapses to one knee trying to breathe. Kakashi and Anjera come over and say "Are you alright?" Einjeru nods and gestures to her dark side, gasping for air. Her arm was still glowing and Anjera noticed it, smiling. Einjeru smiles back and says "I just realized how to beat myself." Anjera nods and Kakashi smiles saying "Your brain is working faster now. What is the plan?" Einjeru starts off saying "Stay out of this. I have to do this myself. The key to this lies in my dormant powers."

Einjeru's dark side laughs and Einjeru picks up her headband and tosses it to Kakashi, smiling. She faces her dark side and says "I know you're scared of me!" Her dark side comes out laughing and says "In your dreams brat! If anything you're scared of me." Einjeru closes her eyes and thinks "I'm not afraid anymore. I am... Fear!" Her dark half gets a little nervous and says "Where did this come from?"

Einjeru's arm glows more and her mark spreads. Kakashi watches and says to Anjera "Is that Einjeru?" Anjera watches smiling and saying "Yes, that is. Like I said before we entered her mind; a new side of her will awaken." Einjeru opens her eyes and they're glowing purple. Her dark half charges in ready to get a hit in, but is blocked. Einjeru laughs saying "This is fun! You're not worth the time I'm putting in, but I'm indulging myself."

Her dark half looks at her and says "You're still a weakling!" Einjeru laughs and says "That is a lovely thought, but look at who can't hit who." Her dark half growls and sees Anjera and Kakashi saying "Let's see about that." Einjeru gets confused and her dark half starts running towards them. Einjeru flashes in front of them saying "You won't touch a hair on them!"

Einjeru kicks her dark half halfway across her mindscape and looks at Kakashi and Anjera. Kakashi smiles and says "Well at least you didn't abandon us." Einjeru says "I couldn't even if I tried. Now I have to knock some sense into someone." Einjeru's dark half tries to get up after the heavy kick, but gets pinned by Einjeru's foot. The dark half remarks on how quick Einjeru was and sees her arm.

Einjeru looks at her dark half and says "What do I do with you?" Her dark half looks away and Einjeru's mark glows bright. Anjera sees it and says "Well, this is it as far as who won." Kakashi looks at Anjera confused and she says "Einjeru won and her mark is shining to show that she has dominance over her dark half." Einjeru looks at her arm and puts her arm to her dark half's head.

Einjeru starts off saying "If you even try anything, I'll bind you so tight that you'll be able to just breathe. Got it?" Her dark half smirks and says "It'll hurt you too." Einjeru sighs and says "Also, if you even think of touching my parents again; I'll make sure you live to regret it." Einjeru walks over to Kakashi and Anjera smiling. Kakashi hands her back her headband saying "Remind me not to make you mad anymore." They all started laughing and Anjera says "Well I guess we're not needed in your head anymore, so time to wake up."

They woke up, and Einjeru was struggling to breathe saying "Could you please get off. You're crushing me." Kakashi sat up and smiled. Anjera stretches and hears grumbling. Einjeru grabs her stomach and blushes in embarrassment. Anjera chuckles and pulls out some fruit. Einjeru takes the banana and noms on it. Kakashi not being a person who likes sweets passed on the fruit.

At the same time, Naruto was in the forest trying to master rasengan. He was suffering chakra burns on his hand and was on the verge of exhaustion. Jiriaya was secretly watching from a distance. Shizune comes by and sees him hard at work. She starts watching him and thinks "For someone who sleeps a lot, he sure has a lot of energy when it comes down to it."

Naruto's arm freezes on him and he falls backwards. Shizune comes up to him and starts healing his arm. Jiriaya comes up behind her saying "I wouldn't touch him if I were you." Shizune turns and says "I should've known it was you, Master Jiriaya." Jiriaya then said "You're Tsunade's apprentice aren't you? You've grown so much." Naruto looks at Shizune and says "You know each other?" Jiriaya replies "She's Tsunade's assistant." Tsunade comes up and says "Should've known it was you Jiriaya."

Jiriaya smiles big and says "It's been a while." Tsunade looks at Naruto and says "This kid has been working hard on a jutsu that is impossible to master. He's like you Jiriaya." Naruto smiles and says "I am a knucklehead, but a determined knucklehead." Tsunade smiles and says "I'll make a bet with you. If you win, you get my necklace. If you lose, you give up on being a shinobi."

Naruto then says "What is the bet?" Tsunade replies with a smirk saying "You master this jutsu in a week." Naruto smiles and says "You're on!" Shizune gets nervous and says "Milady! That necklace!" Tsunade says "I'm sure I'll win this one." Jiriaya laughs and says "There's a reason you're called the Legendary Sucker. I'd like to sweeten the deal. If Naruto wins, you come back to the village and become hokage." Tsunade says "Deal."

Naruto thinks "I can't let Einjeru keep one-upping me." Meanwhile, Einjeru sneezes and Kakashi says "Someone is thinking about you." Einjeru smiles and says "I wonder if it's Naruto." Back with Naruto, he sneezes and Jiriaya smiles big saying "You definitely have someone thinking of you." Naruto thinks of how to master the rasengan. Jiriaya looks at Naruto and says "Remember what you did with the wind chakra?" Naruto looks at him and says "The shadow clones!" Jiriaya nods and Naruto makes 50 clones.

Einjeru thinks about the village and Lord Third. Kakashi and Anjera come up to her and says "It's going to be time to go soon." Einjeru tucks her hair behind her ear and says "I'm a little nervous about returning." Kakashi says "The only thing that is different about you is your hair and how strong you are. Other than that you're still the same kunoichi that everyone has come to know."

Einjeru stretches and says "I could go to a hot spring right now." Kakashi, Anjera and Sakumo laugh and say "We all could." Einjeru says "Why not? I mean there must be a way to use a transformation. Also, I am not saying go as yourselves because that will draw unwanted attention." Anjera smiles and says "Look who's grown hip to the ways of the world." Sakumo chuckles and says "Alright, you win."

Anjera goes to grab something and drags Sakumo with her. Einjeru looks at Kakashi, a little weirded out by Anjera's actions. Kakashi looks back smiling, leaving Einjeru to think "My dad is all types of weird." Anjera comes back looking like Einjeru if she were slightly older. Sakumo comes behind saying "Why do I have to be a little kid?"

Kakashi and Einjeru were do their best to bite back their laughter. Kakashi goes up to him saying "But you look so cute dad." Anjera then says "Well Einjeru?" Einjeru stares at Anjera and says "Will I look like that when I'm older?" Anjera shrugs and says "Who knows?" Kakashi looks at Anjera and blushes. Sakumo sighs and says "Kakashi, you need to snap out of it."

Einjeru walks up to Kakashi saying "I got this grandpa." She smacks the hell out of Kakashi and says "What are you going to do when I get older?!" Kakashi shakes his head and looks at Einjeru and Anjera together. He then says "What about names?" Sakumo then said "You are right." Einjeru then said "What about Shirobuki?" Kakashi then said "Why that?" Sakumo says "I kind of like it." Anjera says "That name is fitting. Now what about me?" Einjeru replies "What about Kuroko?" Anjera says "I never thought you'd refer to my animal form like that, but it works."

Kakashi then says "It's going to be a little awkward, but it will work." Einjeru smiles and says "Let's go!" Anjera smiles and says "Okay we're coming." Sakumo chuckles and Kakashi walks behind them. Einjeru runs outside excitedly. Sakumo (Shirobuki) smiles and says "She's full of energy and spunk." Anjera (Kuroko) smiles saying "Well she has to put on a smile. It's not easy being in her shoes." Kakashi then says "While that's true, her soon-to-be mate may have something to do with it."

Naruto uses the shadow clones to expedite the process but to no avail. He tries a different tactic and finally gets it. Jiriaya smiles and says "Wow brat! You actually got it. Not the way it was intended, but you got it. Lets go to the hot springs to celebrate!" Naruto replies "You just want to go peeping again..." Jiriaya then yells "Brat! It's research!" Naruto sighs and says "Let's just go."

At this point; Einjeru, Kakashi, Anjera and Sakumo got to the hot springs and separated into the gender baths. Einjeru sits down and relaxes. She then says to Anjera (Kuroko) "Come on in Kuroko! The water is refreshing." Anjera comes in sits in the water. Kakashi comes into the bath and sits saying "It has been a while, hasn't it, Shirobuki?" Sakumo (Shirobuki) comes in saying "Yes it has, Kakashi."

Naruto and Jiriaya get to the hot springs a few minutes later and go into the male baths. Naruto gets in there and sees Kakashi. Naruto yells out "Kakashi sensei!" Kakashi turns to Naruto and smiles. Naruto falls in the water thinking "He never takes his mask off." Jiriaya comes in and says "You never fail to amuse me Kakashi." Kakashi chuckles and Shirobuki surfaces saying "Who's the blondie who fell in?"

Naruto replies "Who's the pipsqueak?" A tick mark appeared on the back of Shirobuki's head and he said "My name is Shirobuki. I'm a distant relative of Kakashi. I may ask the same of you." Naruto says "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I'm Kakashi sensei's student." Kakashi noticing the tick-mark says "He's older than he looks. He has a condition that allows him to still look like he's a kid." Naruto comes up to Shirobuki and says "Nice to meet ya!"

Einjeru in the meanwhile is relaxing when Tsunade and Shizune come in. Shizune notices Einjeru and says "Hi there." Einjeru smiles and thinks "Keep it cool." Kuroko comes next to Einjeru saying "Your heart-rate is going up." Einjeru nods and says "Thanks Kuroko." She then takes some deep breaths and Tsunade comes in saying "This is so relaxing."

Naruto then gets excited saying "I learned a totally awesome jutsu sensei!" Kakashi looks at Naruto saying "Oh really?" Naruto smiles real big and says "It's called the rasengan!" Kakashi's eye widened and he said "Show me." Naruto made a shadow clone and performed the rasengan perfectly. At the same time Jiriaya was peeking into the girls bath.

Naruto hears the girlish giggle and turns saying "Pervy sage! I'm going rasengan you back to the leaf and walk with Kakashi sensei if you don't stop!" Einjeru, Tsunade, Shizune and Kuroko heard that and jerked their heads toward the fence. Einjeru said "Kuroko, hand me my towel." Kuroko handed Einjeru her towel. Einjeru wrapped herself in the towel and said "Master Jiriaya. I'm giving you one warning: You get off that fence right now, or I'm going to give you a chidori to the nuts!"

Tsunade laughs at Jiriaya saying "That's quite a threat. Do you really want to lose your manhood?" Jiriaya lets go of the fence and Naruto sighs thinking "I'm glad I'm not a girl." Kakashi sighs and says "It would have been the end of Jiriaya's baby making days if that threat went through." Naruto then said "So I did hear chidori?" Kakashi nods and Naruto turns red saying "Enjeru... other side?"

Einjeru huffs and goes back to relaxing in the hot spring. Kuroko smiles and says "Nice self restraint." Tsunade and Shizune look at Einjeru and say "What village are you from?" Einjeru felt like she was under a microscope and Kuroko nods. Einjeru then says "I'm from the village hidden in the leaves." Tsunade looks at her and said "What's your name?" Einjeru replies "I'm Einjeru Hatake."

Naruto is turning red and decided to leave the bath. Kakashi sighs and starts feeling flush. Shirobuki says "Are you feeling okay?" Kakashi nods and says "Just starting to boil." Jiriaya just soaks in the hot springs. Naruto decides to wait up for Einjeru in the main room. Kakashi starts turning red and Shirobuki says "You should probably get out Kakashi." Kakashi gets out and gets dressed.

Shizune then says "The last Hatake that I know of is Kakashi." Einjeru nods and says "I'm his daughter." Tsunade says "I can see his traits in you. You have his apathetic demeanor at times. Also the streaks of silver in your hair. From what I know, the Hatake wolf genes shine in you." Einjeru shrugs and says "My dad would disagree with you. He says I'm more like my mother."

Kuroko hears the tone of voice used and makes a note to talk to Kakashi later. Einjeru notices the look in Kuroko's eye and says "It's fine." She gets out and gets dressed. Tsunade and Shizune notice the change in demeanor when she mentioned her mother and Kuroko sighs thinking "That wound is still fresh. I wish I could reveal myself."

In the changing rooms, Einjeru lets the tears flow. Kuroko comes in and says "I knew it. You're still hurt by this." Einjeru gets dressed and says "It's fine mom. Dad will always say I look like you. I just wish I could see it." Anjera then says "Maybe someday. You'll be able to see what mine and your grandfather's human form looked like. Until then I say you do look like your father."

Back in the baths, Tsunade said "She's as reclusive as Kakashi as well." Shizune then said "She's hiding something milady." Tsunade nods and says "The old geezer of a sensei knows better than anyone." Shizune then says "It seems pretty important that she's keeping it hidden like that." Tsunade then replies "We just met her. She barely knows us so of course she's going to keep her most guarded secret hidden. Something tells me is has to do with the village so she'll tell in due time."

Einjeru, meanwhile walks out into the main room and sees Naruto. He turns and gives his foxy smile. She smiles back and says "It feels like it's been forever." A light blush comes over her face and Naruto notices her hair. He in turn says "Einjeru? You look different." She replies "And yet you still recognized me. Not much has changed except for my hair." She tucks it back and Naruto envelops her in a hug.

Kakashi comes in the room and a small smile tugs at him. He clears his throat and says "It was quite a coincidence seeing you here Naruto." Naruto rubs the back of his neck and says "Yeah. The Pervy Sage says to come here and relax before heading back to the village, but I think he just wanted to peep at the girls." Einjeru balls up her fist and says "That threat still holds no matter what. I will chidori his nuts off if I catch him peeping at me again."

Tsunade and Shizune hear it and Tsunade says "I would bet that to be true." Naruto replies "I'll also give him a rasengan to the gut for peeping at her like that." He has a perverted thought in his head, and both he and Einjeru flash red for a second. Einjeru then says "Not at this point in time _boy_." Kakashi caught the meaning of that and chuckles. Naruto smiles at that.

Jiriaya comes in bloody and bruised with Shirobuki coming up behind him looking innocent. Kakashi gives a stern look and Shirobuki just smiles innocently. Kuroko comes out and sees Jiriaya thinking "That's what he gets." She then says to Kakashi "Shirobuki and I have to get back. It was nice seeing you and Einjeru after so long." Einjeru remains quiet and Kakashi understood what that meant and said "She's going to miss you two."

Shirobuki goes up to Einjeru and gives her a necklace saying "We're never far away." She hugs him and whispers in his ear "I'm gonna miss you grandpa." Shirobuki smiles and says "You'll be back soon." Einjeru smiles and Kakashi says "We'll see you guys around." Shirobuki and Kuroko disappeared. Tsunade then said "It's been a week brat!"

Einjeru looks at Tsunade and Shizune says "Lady Tsunade made a bet with Naruto that if he mastered rasengan in one week she'd give him the first hokage's necklace and she'd come back to be hokage, but if he lost; he'd have to give up being a shinobi." Kakashi smiles behind his mask and says "Shall we go outside?" Einjeru says "I wanna see!"

They get outside and Naruto makes a shadow clone. He makes the rasengan in all of its glory. Einjeru stutters in amazement and Tsunade says "Well I lost this bet." Shizune smiles, and Jiriaya says "He's an idiot, but a determined idiot." Einjeru flashes red in the face, and Kakashi says "You really want him don't you?" Einjeru nods and says "I'm willing to wait though." Kakashi says "You better, unless you want to end your shinobi career before it truly begins."

Einjeru smiles and says "I understand dad, but I want to return to the leaf soon." Kakashi nods and says "I do too." Naruto comes over and says "It feels like forever since I've been home." Jiriaya, Tsunade and Shizune come up to them ready to return to the leaf. They start their journey back to see a hawk circling above them. They called the hawk and read the note. However, the news wasn't pleasant.


	12. Chapter 12

Danger

Jiriaya called down the hawk and saw a note attached to its leg from Lord Third. He read the note and had a grim look on his face. Naruto saw it and said "Pervy Sage?" Jiriaya says back "Orochimaru escaped." Einjeru froze midstep and said "What?" Jiriaya replied "You heard me brat." Einjeru's mind starts racing and Kakashi says "Calm down. He's not going to try anything yet." Einjeru bites her lip and says "I can't... My mind is racing a 100 miles an hour trying to think of a positive thing and nothing is calming me down."

Tsunade then says "You guys had him?!" Einjeru bit her lip, Naruto was silent and Kakashi faced Tsunade saying "We had him and his assistant in custody. We were supposed to seal their chakra away, but with all the commotion we weren't able to and now they escaped again." Tsunade was pissed and she punched a tree thinking "That bastard!" Jiriaya sighed and said "We have to get back to the leaf immediately. Lord Third wishes to see Einjeru."

Kakashi nods and says "You're right Master Jiriaya." Naruto says "Let's get back to the leaf!" Einjeru nods and gets ready to walk when they all hear a sinister laughter. Kakashi yells to Einjeru and Naruto to stand back to back with each other. Einjeru does so and closes her eyes to focus. Naruto feels a calm wash over and Einjeru glows purple. Einjeru opens her eyes and says "Jump away Naruto!" Orochimaru's head pops out the ground as Naruto and Einjeru separates.

Kakashi sees this and pulls a kunai knife out. Einjeru puts her hand on the White Light Chakra Saber, but Kakashi yells to her "We need to get back to the Leaf. Lady Tsunade and Master Jiriaya can handle Orochimaru. Let's go!" Einjeru nods and gets up to see Naruto unconscious. Einjeru thinks to herself "Damn it! Nice time to be unconscious." She picks up Naruto and makes a run for it.

Orochimaru laughs and says "How cute. She thinks she can get away." Einjeru runs as fast as she can. Kakashi growls and says "You won't touch my subordinates!" Orochimaru laughs again and says "I know she's your brat Kakashi. She may be your underling, but I know she's more to you than that." His visible eye widens and he reveals the sharingan saying "I'll make this quick then."

Einjeru in the meanwhile is close to the village gates when Kabuto appears in front of her saying "You are really lucky kid." The wind blows and Einjeru said "I was wondering when I'd see you, you double-crossing bastard! I knew from the moment I saw you at the first part of the chunin exam that you were a rat!" Kabuto said "Yet you didn't say anything until I went after Sasuke." Einjeru replied "I needed evidence to back it up and you gave it to me."

Einjeru shifts her weight to support Naruto and Kabuto laughs saying "What Lord Orochimaru sees in you is something else." A clone of Einjeru uses the wolf style on Kabuto and a log appears. The clone thinks "Shit! How did he know?" Kabuto reappears saying "It was clever, but not clever enough. It was when you shifted your weight. You were actually weaving a hand sign behind your back. However, Naruto started slipping so you made it look like you were re-supporting him. Like I said; clever."

Kakashi meanwhile is facing Orochimaru and Orochimaru says "Looks like Kabuto did his job and I did mine." He laughs and disappears. Kakashi thinks to himself "Damn it!" Jiriaya then says "What happened?" Kakashi growls and says "Orochimaru was the decoy, and succeeded in separating us from Einjeru and Naruto. They're cornered."

Kabuto takes a step near Einjeru, and she steps back and gets on the defensive. She thinks to herself "Come on Naruto, wake up already." Orochimaru appears next to Kabuto saying "The Hatake brat was so easy to fool." Einjeru growls and says "Which one?" Orochimaru laughs and says "So it's true. You are his brat." Einjeru tries to back up subtly and try to get away.

Orochimaru to Einjeru's dismay grabbed her and Naruto from behind. Einjeru howls as loud as possible and Kakashi hears it thinking "Damn it!" The howl managed to make it to the leaf, but very few people knew what it was. A villager says "How is there a wolf near the village and why is it howling at this time of day?" A certain ANBU heard that howl and left the village to track it.

Kakashi at this point was flashing through the forest to close the gap between him and Einjeru. Jiriaya, Tsunade and Shizune weren't far behind. Kakashi thinks to himself "Be okay." He starts to move faster and Jiriaya says "I know Einjeru and Naruto are in danger, but charging in there without a plan will put them more at risk. You need to calm down some. She is a chunin right? That means that she knows to make the right judgment call."

Einjeru was struggling against the grip that she was being held in. Orochimaru says "We can't risk you moving, now can we?" Einjeru struggles again and Kabuto laughs saying "You had quite a bit of luck, but now there isn't anyone to help and you're stuck." She howled again hoping that someone would hear. Orochimaru looks at her and says "Don't mutts howl?"

Einjeru snarls and says "Obviously you don't know of the genetics that the Hatake carry." Orochimaru laughs and says "The only thing that makes Kakashi special is that sharingan implanted in his eye." Einjeru laughs at his ignorance and says "Nope! I'm not going to say anymore because I have more than just my father's genetics in me. I'm going to show you why you shouldn't mess with me."

Einjeru closes her eyes and enters her mindscape. Orochimaru tries to use her lowered guard to his advantage, however some wood gets in his way. Tenzo sat in a tree looking at Orochimaru from behind his mask. Kabuto looks and says "We should probably go." Orochimaru laughs and says "So, someone did survive. No matter. I still have a prize to claim. Kabuto, why don't you play with him while I do this."

Einjeru is walking in her mindscape and sees her dark half sitting there. Her dark half looks at her and says "Back so soon?" Einjeru replies "I need your help. I need to show someone why they shouldn't mess with me or my family, friends and home." Her dark half grins sadistically saying "I would love to help with that." Einjeru says "I'm not sure how my marking works per se, but I think it allows us to merge."

Kabuto says "So you were a guinea pig for one of Lord Orochimaru's experiments. I must say, to be able to control the wood style of the first hokage is a remarkable feat." Tenzo remains quiet and tries to think of how to end this fight quickly and check on Einjeru. Kakashi feels Tenzo's chakra and calms slightly. Jiriaya sees Kakashi's rigidness ease down.

Einjeru's eyes flash open and she breaks the grip on her. Orochimaru starts to see a shadow and says "Hmmm... You seem to embrace the darkness well." Einjeru closes her eyes and focuses saying "You have no idea what I embrace." Kakashi felt a flare in chakra and thought "She didn't!" Jiriaya said "I don't like that look in your eye brat!" Kakashi then said "Einjeru went to her dark side..."

Naruto starts to wake up and sees Einjeru. He tries to move, but notices the movement restricted. He calls out to Einjeru who responds with a small smile. Orochimaru tries to use this to his advantage and Einjeru sighs saying "You really don't understand do you?" Her ears and tail pop out, and her hands turn into claws. Inside Einjeru's head, her dark half says "We don't have long until we have to split again. Too long and the body can't take it."

Einjeru acknowledges it and faces Orochimaru saying "Come on! Come and get me!" Naruto looks at Einjeru like she's crazy and says "Einjeru, you're nuts!" Einjeru nods and says "But it's keeping you safe!" Orochimaru charges in with his neck extended. Einjeru uses the long neck to her advantage and grabs it. Orochimaru grins and says "Now what?"

Einjeru yells out "This!" and throws Orochimaru into a tree. She hears the sound of bones cracking and Orochimaru laughs saying "That won't keep me down for long." His mouth opens wide and he comes out unscathed. Naruto and Einjeru are both grossed out by this. Einjeru holds her ground and Naruto tries to break his restraints. He pulls out the Grass Longsword from his mouth, and Einjeru pulls out the White Light Chakra Saber from the holster.

Kakashi, Jiriaya, Tsunade and Shizune get there in time to see it. Kakashi gets nervous, and Einjeru senses it. She thinks to herself "This sword... This will leave a nasty mark if I don't watch it." Tenzo sees it and thinks "Crap!" Kabuto says "Your opponent is right here!" Tenzo uses the wood style to keep Kabuto occupied and yells to Einjeru "Run! If you get struck by that sword the pain will be too much!"

Einjeru replies "You worry too much and Kabuto's behind you." Kabuto slashes through the wood style and Tenzo substitutes himself for a log. Einjeru charges in with the White Light Chakra Saber. Tenzo facepalms and Orochimaru says "Quite the speedy one." He swings his sword to be blocked by a blinding chakra. Einjeru thinks "What is this?" Her dark half says "It must be the white chakra."

Sakumo's voice pops in her head saying "It's that necklace that I gave you. Its connected to the white light chakra saber." Einjeru then says "But why now?" Sakumo then says "You're threatened. So it awakened the reserves." Her dark half separates from her saying "Our limit has been reached." Einjeru starts to feel the after effects. She thinks "I have to stay strong." Kakashi notices her tensing. Jiriaya looks to Tsunade and Shizune. They nod back and Kakashi says "Extraction?" Jiriaya nods and says "Wait just a little more."

Einjeru dodges Orochimaru's sword and jumps over to Naruto. She winces in pain and Naruto hears it. Orochimaru charges in and Einjeru goes to block, but gets pierced in the stomach. She screams out and Jiriaya gives the cue. Kakashi grabs Naruto and Einjeru. He brings them to Shizune and she gently pulls the longsword out of Einjeru. Einjeru convulses in pain.

Shizune asks Naruto to hold Einjeru down. Naruto grabs her and Shizune starts to heal her. Einjeru whimpers thinking "That was stupid... Some chunin I am." Naruto looks at her with his deep blue eyes and says "I'm sorry..." Einjeru jerks up and whines saying "For what?" Naruto forces her to lay back and says "For letting you get injured like this." Shizune then says "Don't blame yourself." Einjeru says "I did what I did on my own accord. It was never your fault."

Kakashi is sitting near and says "Not to mention reckless." Einjeru snorts at that and says "Don't act like you weren't reckless at my age. You were the one throwing yourself into missions after mom died." Kakashi replied "If you weren't injured right now I would smack you." Einjeru replies "Why don't you?" Naruto's eyes widen and Kakashi bites his lip saying "I can't... You're still my pup."

Einjeru looks away and Shizune says "You're healed but you shouldn't move or your wound will open back up." Einjeru replies "I understand. Thank you Shizune." She tries to sit up some and stand. However a wave of pain washed over and she almost fell out of the tree. Kakashi grabs her and says "You're going straight to Hidden Leaf Hospital when we get back. Also, your chakra is being sealed while you're recovering. No training either."

Einjeru whines and says "This is the worst punishment you've ever given me." Naruto says "No training a punishment? I'd love it!" Kakashi says "Hatake thrive on training, so this is a terrible punishment from her standpoint. Not to mention she won't be able to utilize her chakra." Naruto winces at that thought as Kakashi gets Einjeru on his back.

Naruto, Kakashi with Einjeru on his back, and Shizune start running toward the village. Kabuto notices, and Tenzo stops Kabuto from moving with the wood style and catches up. Meanwhile, Jiriaya and Tsunade are fighting Orochimaru. Kabuto goes to assist Orochimaru, and Tsunade takes on Kabuto.

On the way back to the village, Kakashi said to Tenzo "Einjeru is to be kept on a tight leash." Tenzo replies "So what do you need from me senpai?" Kakashi replies "You have a jutsu that suppresses chakra. If she gets out the hospital, she'll go training which I'm forbidding until she is healed. I want you to use it on her in a way she won't notice." Tenzo nods and says "I'll wait until she's asleep."

They get her to the hospital where she was admitted and fell asleep. Tenzo made a chakra suppression bracelet with a trace amount of his chakra in it to be able track her. Kakashi notices the bracelet and says "Nice." Tenzo replies "Yeah, she's probably berating herself." Kakashi sighs and says "Maybe I am being a little hypocritical." Tenzo smiles and says "Senpai, you're only doing what's best. She is starting to bloom into her teenage years." Kakashi replies "That's what I'm worried about."

Meanwhile, Tsunade, Orochimaru and Jiriaya are in the legendary three-way deadlock with their summonings. Orochimaru's Manda wrapped itself around Tsunade's Katsuyu and Jiriaya's Gamabunta went for a slash at Manda. Katsuyu broke down into miniature clones of herself and started to reassemble. Manda grabs Gamabunta's sword. Gamabunta lets go, and he and Jiriaya use Fire style: Flame Oil Toad Bullet.

Orochimaru and Kabuto got out of dodge and Manda got the blunt of the attack. Tsunade used Gamabunta's sword and put it through the top of Manda's head. Manda disappeared saying "I'm going to kill you next time Orochimaru." Gamabunta and Katsuyu disappeared due to the exhaustion. Orochimaru and Kabuto decided to scram. Tsunade wanted to go after them, but Jiriaya said "We need to get to the village." Tsunade nods and says "Einjeru was reckless, but I'll give her props. No mere chunin faces off against Orochimaru and survives."

Einjeru starts having a night terror and Kakashi tries to wake her. Einjeru jolts up and throws the blanket off. She's breathing heavy and tries to calm down. Kakashi thinks to himself "What was she dreaming about?" She mutters "Naruto..." Kakashi looks at her and says "That was more than a nightmare." Einjeru's breathing settles and she looks at Kakashi. He looks at her and sees something he hadn't seen in her eyes in years, fear. He's seen happiness, sadness, nervousness, but hasn't seen total fear since Einjeru was 6.

Einjeru gripped Kakashi's hand so hard that he almost squeaked. He then snapped Einjeru out of it saying "What's wrong?" Einjeru shook her head and ran to the bathroom. Tenzo came in and said "Do I have to restrain her?" Kakashi shook his head and said "She's scared. We can't afford to make it worse." Tenzo said "Scared? Einjeru? Is this the same girl that we know?"

In the bathroom, Einjeru was looking in the mirror thinking to herself "What am I? Who am I? Do I let my friends, family and village suffer because of my actions?" She looks at her black and silver hair and says "I am of royal blood and a Hatake... I know that much, but who am I? Am I a danger to my friends, family and home?" She sniffles and blinks away her tears.

Einjeru splashes her face with some water and dries her face. She starts walking back to the room and overhears Kakashi and Tenzo talking. Kakashi says to him "You only just met her. I know her expressions better than anyone else. The look in her eyes when she woke up was unlike any nightmare she had. It was beyond anything I saw in her since she was 6. She's scared of something and she's not going to budge on it."

Einjeru balled up her fist and figured a way out of the hospital. Tenzo then says "It sounds like she heard us." Outside the hospital Einjeru was thinking of what Jiriaya had said regarding the letter. Kakashi replied "Knowing Einjeru she's going to go to Lord Third." Einjeru remembers that Lord Third wanted to see her and ran towards the Hokage office.

Lord Third sees her coming from his crystal ball and chuckles. Einjeru comes to the door and knocks. Lord Third tells her to come in and Einjeru walks in still wearing her hospital clothes. He chuckles and says "Snuck out the hospital?" Einjeru looked down and Lord Third smiles and says "Well at least you're okay." Einjeru looked down again and said "I was reckless sir... I encountered Orochimaru on the way back to the village." He nods and says "I see by your injury that he used the Grass Longsword."

Einjeru nods and says "Master Jiriaya said that you wanted to see me?" Lord Third nods and says "I was just trying to see how your visit was going." Einjeru nods and says "I learned a lot about myself but I still have doubts... I feel as though I'm doomed to failure..." Lord Third gets a disconcerted look on his face. Einjeru shifts uncomfortably and said "I don't know what to say... I need to talk about it before I burst but I don't know how to start it and I don't know how to talk to dad... I'm scared and I don't know what to do!"

Lord Third smiles and says "Well, you are right in trying to figure out what to do." Einjeru sniffs and says "It's been the same dream, but it's gotten more vivid. I can't keep going on like this..." Lord Third summons Kakashi to his office and says "You're going to talk about this." Einjeru was quiet at first, but started off saying "I've been having the same nightmare since I graduated from the academy..."

 _Dream (prior to chunin exams):_

Einjeru gets to the academy for the mission assignment and hears that it was supposed to be done solo. The mission was to infiltrate a village and grab a scroll, and bring it back to the leaf. However, while on the mission she ran into some complications. It started off as something simple, but ended up turning into something complicated...

 _Present:_

Kakashi says "That doesn't sound too bad. It doesn't explain why you are in this much shock." Lord Third then said "You said the dream had gotten more vivid. What does it mean?" Einjeru replies "It becomes to the point where I could describe every single detail, but the latest edition ends up with the village destroyed and everyone close to me stacked up in front of me dead and a voice saying 'This happened because you're a danger to everyone and everything around you...' and I was holding Naruto in my hands."

Kakashi looked bewildered that Einjeru was capable of having such nightmares. Einjeru falls to her knees saying "I can't go on like this... It was never that bad until I faced off against Orochimaru and was injured. That last dream was what happened when I was sleep in the hospital." Kakashi comes over and says "You're not a danger to anyone except your enemies. Just because someone is injured under your watch doesn't make you a terrible person."

Einjeru cried into his chest yelling "I'm scared! I don't know what to do!" Kakashi stroked her hair in a calming fashion saying "We will pull through. You have to remain strong." Einjeru just cried saying "Why couldn't I have just been born normal?! Why do I have to maintain such expectations from my peers? Everyone knows me in the village as the daughter of the copy ninja, yet I have a secret that no one else can know. It's tearing me apart and I can't hold it in anymore."

Lord Third says "She hasn't been resting much lately, has she?" Kakashi shrugs his shoulders and says "I don't think so." Einjeru looked so worn that she was ready to throw in the towel before she started. Kakashi looked at her, heart breaking because Einjeru looked the most fragile in all of the years of him raising her. Einjeru then hunched over in pain. She lifted her shirt to see that the wound opened up again.

Einjeru thought to herself "I'd rather bleed out then continue like this..." Kakashi's eye widened and he smacked her. Einjeru looked at Kakashi wide-eyed and he looked at his hand thinking "What the fuck did I just do?" Einjeru sat there in shock, bleeding through her bandages with a red hand-mark on her face. She growls and tries to get up, but gets dizzy and falls over.

Kakashi looks at her and lays her straight. In his head he's scolding himself for hitting her like that. Einjeru's vision starts to blur and eventually goes black. Jiriaya and Tsunade come to the office and see Einjeru on the floor bleeding out. Tsunade immediately shoos the men out of the office and completely removes Einjeru's hospital shirt and the bandages to re-heal the wound.

Kakashi stands outside thinking "I'm such an idiot! I shouldn't have hit her like that. A Hatake protects their kin, not hurt them." Jiriaya says "I saw that handprint on her face... You hit her pretty hard huh?" Kakashi looked feral for a moment and thought "Anjera would kill me if she found I struck our daughter like that." He goes outside and sniffs.

Sakumo's voice pops in Kakashi's head saying "We saw everything. Anjera wants to rip you apart limb by limb right now for smacking her like that, but we also heard her thoughts. Both of you are in doubt." Kakashi says "Dad... I don't know what to do. Something's eating her from the inside out and I can't do anything." Sakumo replies "She's still not acknowledging herself. She only sees herself as your shadow and not as a shinobi in her own right. She also sees herself making the same mistakes that we both made. That's why she's afraid and she's hiding behind her temper."

Einjeru woke up and her vision was blurred. She saw blonde pigtails and said weakly "L-lady Tsunade?" Tsunade smiled and said "Stay still, I'm almost done." Einjeru's vision returned to normal. Tsunade re-bandaged Einjeru's abdomen and sits her up. Einjeru was too weak to support herself. "I just want to sleep." Einjeru says before her eyes close. Tsunade lays her down near the wall and puts her shirt back on gently.

She calls the guys back in and they see Einjeru next to the wall sleeping. Kakashi remained quiet and Jiriaya asks about her condition. Tsunade replied "She lost quite a bit of blood, but she'll pull through after some rest which I can see she hasn't been getting." Kakashi replies "She keeps having nightmares and finds herself unable to sleep."

Lord Third smiles and says "She looks peaceful. I don't want to disturb that by moving her. However, I'm glad you decided to return to the village Tsunade." Tsunade smiles and says "I never thought I would come back to the leaf in all honesty, Sarutobi sensei. These next generation kids are the future and they have shown me that I have a chance to influence them." She gestures to Einjeru and says "She kind of reminds me of myself with her tough-girl act." Lord Third smiles and says "Well, you have yet to meet the other genin. Kakashi is in charge of squad 7 which Einjeru and Naruto are a part of. They are the only genin squad with 5 members in the whole village."

Someone bangs on the door yelling "Kakashi sensei! I know you're in there!" Lord Third chuckles and "Come in Naruto." Naruto comes in and sees Jiriaya, Tsunade, Lord Third and Kakashi standing next to each other and notices a hint of black and silver from the corner of his eye. Sasuke and Sakura come behind him saying "It's rude to barge in." Lord Third chuckles and says "It's fine. I told him to come in." Sasuke and Sakura notice Einjeru in the corner sleeping.

Sakura then says "Is she okay?" Tsunade smiles "Just a little wound to the stomach, but she'll be just fine. Sasuke smiles and says "I'm anxious for a new mission soon." Naruto gets fired up saying "So am I! I'm raring to put my new skills to the test!" Sakura says "I won't be left in the dust by the three of you anymore." Kakashi smiled thinking "These guys are starting to act more like a team after being apart for a short amount of time."

A wolf tail popped out from Einjeru signaling that she sleeping peacefully. Kakashi decided to mess with Einjeru using Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. He told them to go pet her not touching her stomach. Naruto already understood why and didn't want to put it to chance. He goes for her neck and she giggled in her sleep muttering "Stop it..." Sakura rubs Einjeru's head and gets a sigh in return. Sasuke accidentally touched her stomach which caused Einjeru to wake up and scream in pain.

They jumped back and Einjeru curled up in pain. Kakashi told them to back up as he walked forward. Kakashi walks up to Einjeru and strokes her head to calm her. She winces in pain and starts to relax. Sasuke apologizes and Einjeru shrugs it off saying "It was an accident." She starts to fall asleep again. Kakashi lays her back down and tucks her hair back.

Jiriaya, Tsunade and Lord Third watched as Kakashi relaxed Einjeru. Lord Third smiles and says "You've really grown in seven years Kakashi." Naruto smiles, Sakura giggles and Sasuke grins. Jiriaya adds in "The brat oughta buy you some new books." Naruto then says "I'm glad she hid those books from him! That trash is so boring." Jiriaya then says "Why you little brat! You'll never understand good literature!" Tsunade then says "I agree with him."

Jiriaya whines and Sakura thinks to herself "What a pervert." Sasuke then thinks "I feel bad for Naruto." Tsunade then looks at Sakura thinking "She probably is behind the rest of them physically but has excellent chakra control." Sakura looks at Tsunade and says "Milady?" Tsunade smiles and says "Have you considered training in medical ninjutsu?"

Sakura says "I never thought about it." Tsunade smiles and says "You have the chakra control for it. You'll be a valuable asset to your teammates." Sasuke says "We all have to become stronger and be able to watch each others backs." Jiriaya, Tsunade, Kakashi and Lord Third looked at them smiling. Naruto grins and says "I know it! I'm going to be hokage!"

Einjeru wakes up a few hours later in the hokage's office. She thinks to herself "I thought someone would've moved me out of here." Lord Third smiles and says "You're finally awake." She sits up with no problem and says "Why am I still here?" Lord Third replies "You'll see in a few. How's your stomach?" Einjeru touches it and says "It's not sensitive to touch. I guess I just needed proper sleep."

Lord Third nods and Itachi comes in saying "Lord Third..." Einjeru's fight or flight response kicked in and Lord Third said "Calm down Einjeru. He's an ally." She gulps and says "Itachi Uchiha... How?" Lord Third replies "You have a right to know since this pertains to Naruto." Her fist balls up and shakes. Itachi says "I assume you only heard what the rumors around the village are." Einjeru growls lowly and says "My dad told me..."

Itachi looks at her funny and Lord Third said "Say your last name Einjeru." Einjeru said in return "It's Hatake." Itachi looks at her and says "I wouldn't have expected my former captain to have had a kid." Lord Third then said "She's also Anjera's daughter." Itachi replies "You mean?" Einjeru sighs and says "Yes, I have royal blood in me." Lord Third smiles and says "That's part of the reason that you were left here."

Einjeru sighs and leans against the wall saying "Why is it important that Itachi knows what I am?" Lord Third smiles and says "You have something to tell him about his brother." Einjeru got uneasy and thought "Oh shit... I never thought I'd have to tell Itachi about Sasuke's amnesia." Itachi looks at her and says "No need to be nervous." Einjeru explained what happened when Sasuke tried to ditch the village and her hand in him losing his memory.

Itachi nods and says "I understand. You tried to hold back. At least you told me the truth." Einjeru bit her lip and said "He's regaining some of his more recent memories... His memories from the academy days haven't come back." Itachi gives a gentle smile and asks "How much stronger has he become?" Einjeru replies "He has a second chakra nature and his sharingan is awake."

Itachi smiles even more and says "I can see why he was assigned to Kakashi." Einjeru looks down silent. Itachi gives a critical look and Lord Third says "Orochimaru invaded the village and left a curse seal on Sasuke." Einjeru bites her lip and says "He went totally psycho on us, and he left us no choice but to use our most brutal methods to bring him back."

Itachi looks at her and says "But you brought him back. That's what's important. I don't mind that he doesn't remember the clan slaughter. I'd rather him get strong and be around friends like you." Einjeru looked at him and said "Really?" Itachi says "If you're Kakashi's kid you're naturally gifted and probably bested Sasuke on more than one occasion."

Einjeru shrugs and says "He's getting stronger, and is learning to rely on his friends, which is something I need to do." Itachi gives a warm smile like he would to Sasuke and says "Watch over my brother." Einjeru looks at him and says "But I'm younger than him..." Itachi gives another smile saying "And the whole village watches over the next generation. Never forget we all carry the will of fire in us, and that unites us all." He disappears in a flock of ravens and Lord Third smiles saying "He's right. The will of fire burns bright in your generation." He gestures for Einjeru to come over to him and gives her a scroll detailing what Itachi reported about the Akatsuki's actions.

Einjeru looks at it and says "But why tell me? Isn't my dad supposed to be the one to know? He's technically his sensei." Lord Third replies "The way you work, you'd protect him with your life." Einjeru nods and feels the shaking of an explosion. Lord Third says "Go see what that is. Avoid conflict if possible." Einjeru nods and runs towards the explosion.

Einjeru gets to the location and sees Kisame Hoshigaki fighting Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai. She hides behind a tree and then Itachi appears. All of the jonin sensei freeze when they see his sharingan. Kakashi yells out "Whatever you do don't look into his eyes! I'm the only one who can fight him!" Einjeru thought to herself "Lord Third told me not to get involved, but to just see what's going on."

Kisame heard some movement in the bushes and Einjeru thought to herself "Crap!I was discovered." She was about to start moving towards the hokage tower when Kisame appeared behind her and grabbed her. She screamed out and the jonin all thought "That was Einjeru!" Kisame appears in front of Kurenai and Asuma holding Einjeru and saying "How unfortunate that this brat saw everything."

Kakashi appeared behind Kisame with a kunai to his throat saying "Drop her." Einjeru remained quiet and Kisame smiles saying "What is she to you?" Kakashi replies "She's my chunin subordinate." Kisame laughs and says "Chunin? She looks like she's ready for bed." Einjeru wriggles to try and get out of his grip, and decides to use lightning chakra.

Itachi was looking and said "Drop her or you'll get shocked." Einjeru yelled out "Too late!" and let the lightning surge. She ended up shocking Kisame and the Kakashi clone. While the clone popped, Kisame dropped Einjeru and she fell on her knees. Guy appeared on the scene and saw Einjeru on her knees. She thinks to herself "That was smart... Using chakra when it's suppressed."

Einjeru was unable to move and Guy tells Kurenai and Asuma to grab Einjeru. Einjeru groans and feels sluggish. Asuma and Kurenai grab her and get out of dodge. Einjeru finally manages to snap out of it and says "You can put me down now, Asuma sensei, Kurenai sensei." Asuma then asks "What were you doing there?" Einjeru replies "Lord Third sent me to observe. I guess I was a mole in a sense. I wasn't supposed to get involved, but I got discovered."

They go to the office and Lord Third sighs saying "I said not to get involved." Asuma replied "It wasn't her fault dad. She was hidden." Lord Third "Got snuck up on huh?" Einjeru nodded and said "All of the jonin sensei were facing off against Kisame and Itachi showed... My dad took on Itachi and Kisame got me from behind when I was getting ready to report back here..."

Kurenai adds "Guy showed up and told us to get her out of there." Einjeru sighs and says "I should probably go back to the hospital to rest... I literally forced my chakra out and I'm tired because of it." Lord Third sees the wooden bracelet on her wrist and nods. Asuma and Kurenai take her to the hospital and go to check on Kakashi and Guy. They get back to where they were fighting and see Itachi and Kisame escaping.

Kakashi collapses and Guy carries him back to land. Asuma and Kurenai tell Guy that Einjeru is in the hospital recovering. Guy says "Kakashi ended up getting placed under a nasty genjutsu and fell unconscious. It's a good thing she wasn't here for that. Well, better get Kakashi to the hospital." They get him checked in and ironically they put him in the same room as Einjeru.

A week later, Einjeru woke up and says "I must have been out for a while... It was a good sleep though." A voice comes from behind the curtain saying "I'll bet." Einjeru pulls the curtain back and sees Kakashi reading a parenting book. She smiles and says "How long have you been awake?" Kakashi smiles back saying "Tsunade revived me in no time, but said that the time you'd wake up was unknown."

A voice came from the window saying "It looks like that bracelet did it's job, huh senpai?" Kakashi nods and says "Being in a comatose state for a week has it's perks. I still can't move though." Einjeru looks at the window and says "Yeah, thanks..." She crawls back under the covers and tries to rest some more. Kakashi then says "Lady Tsunade said your stomach healed up quite fast while you were in your deep sleep."

Tenzo walks up to her and removes the bracelet. Einjeru just ignored him and laid there. He says "Not very talkative right now are you?" Einjeru shrugs and says "I'm tired, but not tired... I'm gonna try and sleep some more." Tsunade comes in and says "So, you're awake after a week-long sleep." Einjeru nods and says "Still tired though." Tsunade smiles and says "I'll bet. Your bodily functions are restarting after a week of non-use. Also, you and Kakashi have some visitors."

Kuroko and Shirobuki come in and Einjeru smiles big. Kuroko smiles and says "I was going to smack you if you weren't awake." Einjeru looks down saying "I kinda forced my chakra out." Shirobuki smiles and says "Well at least you aren't dead." Kuroko sighs and says "Can we be alone?" Tsunade nods and she and Tenzo leave the room.

Einjeru didn't like this, but didn't show it. Kakashi then said "What's so important Anjera that you had to bring dad out to the village." Einjeru thought to herself "Yup, this was not a good thing." Anjera under the name Kuroko said "I want to take Einjeru under my wing for a couple years." Both Kakashi and Einjeru's eyes widened. Sakumo under Shirobuki then said "I'm with Anjera on this one."

Kakashi sighs and says "You'll have to ask Einjeru. This is her decision to make." Einjeru gulps and says "Why now?" Anjera sighs and says "There are some things you can't learn here in the village that being outside allows you to." Einjeru sighs and says "Only on one condition. I can bring someone with me." Shirobuki says "Who is it?" Kakashi smiled and said "Someone from the ANBU Black Ops. who was under my command."

Anjera looks at Kakashi and says "I don't like that idea." Einjeru then said "This ANBU is loyal only to the hokage and one of the few that I trust. Besides Lord Third wouldn't let me leave without him anyway. He was in the room with us." Anjera sighs and says "But why? You act like your grandfather and I can't protect you." Einjeru replies "Call it a shinobi's hunch." Kakashi says "That's not the only reason is it?" Einjeru replies "No, another one is because I need someone to keep me from getting homesick."

Tsunade knocks on the door and Einjeru says "Come in Lady Tsunade." Tsunade comes in with squad 7 in tow. She says "You two are the popular ones today aren't you?" Naruto runs up to Einjeru and scoops her up in a big hug. Einjeru smiles and says "Yo! It's been a week." Kuroko looks at Naruto and Einjeru saying "You two are so cute!" Einjeru gags and says "Kuroko! Not even dad says that!"

Kakashi says "You're embarrassing her..." Naruto blushes and sets Einjeru down. Sasuke smiles and says "When are you two going to get married?" Sakura smiles and says "Come on, you two were meant for each other. Now kiss!" Einjeru turns 50 shades of red and says "I wouldn't mind..." Naruto smiles and says "You wouldn't?" Kakashi says "Of course not, now kiss so people can have something to gossip about."

Einjeru looks at Kakashi and says "When I return, you're the first person I'm going to kill." Naruto gets nervous and Einjeru kisses him straight on the lips for three seconds. Einjeru smiles and Naruto turns red. She blushes and Naruto says "My first kiss... Wow." Kakashi said "Now if only we had a picture." Kuroko smirks and says "Got it!" Einjeru huffs and says "I swear if that picture gets spread, the village is going to be minus one jonin."

Tsunade then says "Calm down now." Einjeru nods and sits on the bed. Naruto stands with Sakura and Sasuke. Kakashi lies in his bed and Tsunade checks Einjeru over for any injuries and see if she's safe for release. Einjeru sits there while being checked out. Tsunade smiles and says "You're clear for discharge." Einjeru stretches saying "Finally! I really hate the hospital!" Kuroko says "Just like your father."

Einjeru gets ready to leave the hospital and Kakashi whispers in her ear "Give him the mark before you leave." Einjeru groans and Kuroko says "Don't worry about it. Give it to him on the back of his neck. That's where your father put mine." Einjeru gets a picture in her head and shakes it away saying "I'll do it my own way thanks..." She walks out of the room and gets dressed.

Upon leaving the hospital, Einjeru ran around the village feeling free. She flashes through the trees. Squad 7 followed behind her. She stops at the stone faces and take a breath of air. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke landed behind her smiling. Sakura starts off saying "Lady Tsunade asked me if I felt up to taking up medical ninjutsu." Einjeru turns to her and says "Do it! If Lady Tsunade is asking you, do it! That means you must have an aptitude for it."

Naruto then said "Pervy Sage wants to take me out the village for a couple years to make me stronger." Einjeru thought to herself "So Naruto will be Master Jiriaya's apprentice and Sakura will be under Lady Tsunade. That's great." Sasuke says "Lord Third wants me to train with Kakashi in the use of my sharingan." Einjeru nods and the three of them looked at her and said "What are you going to do?" Einjeru smiles and says "I'm going on a training journey with some of my distant relatives."

Sakura smiles and Sasuke says "Lets get some ramen before we part ways for the next two years." Naruto seconds the motion along with Sakura third-ing. Einjeru shrugs and follows them. They get to Ichiraku and the owner says to Naruto "So you got that first kiss huh?" The four of them looked at each other thinking the same thing: "Who spread that around?" Einjeru gets really angry and yells "DAD!"

Back at the hospital the elder Hatake had his ears covered saying "Looks like the Einjeru and Naruto rumor has been spread. I'm dead later." An angry young Hatake went through the hospital to Kakashi's room and said "Give me one reason I shouldn't kick your ass before I leave dad!" Kakashi smiles and says "Come on. I have more tact than that and besides a Hatake keeps their love life private for the most part." Einjeru sighs and says "If that's true then why did you spread the rumor? You're supposed to be the clan head remember?"

Kakashi smiles and says "That's true Einjeru, but even I'm allowed to have a little fun." Einjeru smiles and says "You? Fun? I must've stepped into another realm." Kakashi chuckles and says "Your mom said you can bring Tenzo. She wants to leave after Lady Tsunade is inaugurated." Einjeru nods and says "Naruto says Master Jiriaya is taking him out of the village at the same time. Sakura is going to be working under Lady Tsunade and I heard Sasuke is going to under you for the next couple years."

Kakashi nods and says "The shinobi council requested that I trained Sasuke one on one. I figured since you're going to be training on taming your other side, it was a good opportunity." Einjeru sighs and says "Just don't spoil him, or even consider going easy." Kakashi smiles and says "I'm pretty sure he'll give you a hard time when you return." Einjeru smiles and hugs Kakashi.

Tsunade comes in and says "You're starting to regain your normal functions. You should be ready for release tomorrow." Einjeru smiles and says "That's a relief dad." Tsunade added "Squad 7 will be relieved of normal shinobi duty for now." Einjeru smiles and says "So you're aware of the training journeys then." Tsunade nods and says "I'll be testing you four upon your return to see if you can work with each other." Einjeru nods and says "Understood. Well I have a knuckle-headed blonde to find. See you later!"

Meanwhile, Naruto was on top of the stone face overlooking the whole village. Einjeru walked up and said "I figured you'd be here." Naruto says "This is the best place in the whole village." A breeze flows in and Einjeru's hair flapped in the breeze as she said "This is the best vantage point of the whole village and the most romantic spot." Naruto looks at Einjeru and says "Nervous about leaving?"

Einjeru chuckles and sits down with Naruto. Naruto nudges her saying "One day my face is going to be up here." Einjeru then says "I finally realized my dream." Naruto looks at her excitedly and says "What is it?" She looks at him and says "It's you. My dream is to make yours come to light." Naruto blushes and Einjeru thinks to herself "It's time."

Einjeru starts off saying "Naruto? Remember when I told you about my love bite?" Naruto nods and says "I thought you weren't ready." Einjeru smiles and says "When I told you that, I wasn't. However, when I kissed you earlier in the room, I felt something." Einjeru blushes and Naruto thinks "She's known the secret since we've met, but has never shown me any disdain or anything. She was like a sister, but now..."

Einjeru takes a deep breath. Naruto smiles and says "Still hesitant?" Einjeru laughs and says "Pull your collar down." Her canine teeth got slightly longer and she says "This might sting a little." Naruto pulls his collar down and Einjeru bites down on his neck hard enough to draw blood. She releases and sees a little blood. Naruto smiles and says "That didn't hurt in the slightest." She grabs some bandages from her pouch and wraps them around Naruto's neck.

Naruto was confused until Einjeru said "I drew a little blood." Naruto smiles and said "It's okay. We better head home soon." Einjeru nods and says "I'm gonna go see dad one more time before I call it a day. See ya Naruto!" Naruto heads back to the apartment and Einjeru goes to the hospital. Kakashi was walking around the room as Einjeru appeared in the window.

A little blood dripped from her mouth to her ignorance. Kakashi said "You have the sloppy bite don't you?" Einjeru looked at him confused and made the gesture of wiping the corner of her mouth. She wiped the corner of her mouth and paled in embarrassment. Kakashi chuckles and says "So you bit him... About time." Einjeru smiles and says "I felt something when I kissed him." Kakashi smiles and says "Go get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

The following week, Tsunade underwent her inauguration and the whole village was gathered in front of the hokage tower. Squad 7 was in the front while Jiriaya was up with Tsunade and Lord Third. Lord Third said "This was the second time that I give this hat up. Let's hope it will be the last." Tsunade nods and goes in front of the village saying "As your fifth hokage I will do my best to lead and protect our village."

Everyone cheered and Jiriaya appeared behind squad 7 saying "Hey brats!" Naruto turned around and said "Pervy Sage! Are we heading out soon?!" Jiriaya smiles and says "Let's all get some ramen to celebrate!" Einjeru smiles and follows behind them with Sakura and Sasuke next to her, and Shirobuki, Kuroko and Kakashi behind them. After their ramen enjoyment they went to village gate for their two year farewell.

Squad 7 gave each other hugs and vowed to re-unite stronger than ever. Kuroko and Shirobuki stood behind Einjeru and Kakashi said "Take care of her." Tenzo appeared next to Einjeru saying "You have little faith in us senpai." Kakashi smiles and says "I have a young Uchiha to whip into shape." Sasuke smirks and Sakura says "I have to go meet Lady Tsunade." She heads off and Einjeru smiles saying "I'm gonna miss the village while I'm away."

Both Naruto and Einjeru walked out the village together and split ways for two years. How much stronger will they become?


	13. Chapter 13

Interlude

It's been a year since the squad split and Einjeru was in meditation. She opens her eyes and lays back bored out of her mind. The images that roll through her mind are of the village that she left and her imagination runs wild about what to expect when she comes back. She smiles and Tenzo comes in the room and says "Couldn't meditate anymore?" Einjeru shakes her head and says "My imagination went wild again."

Tenzo smiles and says "You really are the blend of both of them, but I got a letter from the village. Guess who's coming to visit." Einjeru lit up and said "Is it dad?! Is it dad?!" Tenzo laughs and says "Yes, and he'll be bringing someone along, but I don't know who." She smiles so big and Anjera came in the room saying "I guess you were just told. Feel up to a spar?" Einjeru smiles big and says "You bet!"

Einjeru and Anjera met up in the main area. Tenzo sat to the side and spotted the match. Anjera said "You are only to use taijutsu and your demon techniques. No ninjutsu or genjutsu. In return, I can't use demon techniques, but ninjutsu and taijutsu." Einjeru then said "You know ninjutsu?" Anjera chuckles and says "I grew up in the hidden leaf as well. Of course I learned ninjutsu."

Tenzo thinks to himself "This will be an interesting spar." Einjeru nods to Anjera and they get into their stances. As soon as Tenzo said begin, Anjera was weaving signs as fast as Kakashi does with the sharingan eye open. Einjeru thought to herself "Oh shit!" Anjera called out "Fire style: Fireball jutsu" Einjeru had to think fast and then remembered the ability to deflect it back at her opponent. She called out "Demon style: Masterful reflection" A mirror appeared and deflected the fireball back at Anjera.

Anjera dodged and smiled saying "Very good. Now how will you deal with this?" Anjera moved so fast that Einjeru was thankful for her enhanced vision and blocked in time. Anjera says "Come on. Fight back!" Einjeru sighs and thinks "She's just trying to get a rise out of me, I just need to ignore her and keep calm." Anjera thinks "Well, it looks like she can ignore the taunting."

Einjeru goes for a scissor kick and got caught in mid-air with Anjera saying "I concede." Einjeru looks at Anjera confused and Anjera says "A shinobi knows when to pick their fights and when to back off. You've become smarter in the past year." Einjeru then said "But you had me in your grip." Anjera nods and gestures for Einjeru to follow her. Tenzo smiles and thinks "She's growing everyday."

Einjeru freezes and sniffs. Anjera notices and smiles saying "What do you smell?" Einjeru smiles and says "I smell dad, but I also smell someone else from the village with him." In her head, Einjeru thinks "She hasn't met Sasuke, but his scent... I can't determine if it's him or not." Anjera notices Einjeru deep in thought and asked "Is it someone you know?" Einjeru replies "I'm not positive." Tenzo comes up behind them and says "It should be fine."

Kakashi sniffs around and thinks "Einjeru was just training." Sasuke then says "Sensei? What are we doing here at a mountain range?" Kakashi eye-smiles and says "Lady Tsunade has us checking up on an asset of ours." Next thing Sasuke knew he was on his back. Kakashi readied a kunai and one was placed to his neck just for him to hear "Wow dad and Sasuke. What have you two been doing since I left?" Sasuke then says "That voice!" Einjeru giggles and says "It should've been obvious when I said _dad_."

Sasuke is looking around and Kakashi said "She'll reveal herself. Isn't that right Einjeru?" Einjeru appears in front of them and said "Come on." Sasuke and Kakashi follow her with Sasuke having a questioning look on his face. Kakashi says "Aren't you going to speak?" Sasuke was unsure of how to start. Einjeru chuckles and says "I know what you're thinking Sasuke. Say it."

Sasuke gulps and says "How did you sneak up on us?" Einjeru replies "A shinobi masters the art of silence." Sasuke then replies "We didn't even sense your chakra." Einjeru simply replied "Suppressed it." Sasuke simply was befuddled and Einjeru says "I did about six years of work in one using shadow clones. My mom has been a drill sergeant about the basics and all that."

Sasuke was surprised to hear that and Einjeru says "You are not to say a word of what we're speaking about or what you're seeing to anyone. If this was to have a rank of secrecy it would be S-Ranked." Kakashi smiles because he was privy from the start. Sasuke asks Kakashi why and Einjeru says "Because technically my mother is dead in the eyes of the village."

Sasuke heard the hiss behind the words and Einjeru said "I don't think you're ready to hear the reason I say that with disdain yet." Sakumo comes up to Einjeru in his wolf form. She hugs him and says "Hey gramps." Sasuke looks at the sight confused and Kakashi smiles saying "Technically my father is dead." Sakumo then says "Maybe this will jog his memory."

In Sakumo's place appears Shirobuki. Sasuke then said "The little brat that was visiting Einjeru in the hospital?!" Anjera comes in and says "Hello Sasuke." Einjeru then said "Meet my mom." Sasuke was confused and Kakashi says "You were wondering why she was such an enigma?" Sakumo went back to normal and Sasuke was thinking how far down the hole he was.

Einjeru sighs and says "Lady Tsunade sent both of you?" Sasuke said "Originally it was supposed to be another jonin, but sensei asked to bring me instead." Kakashi chuckles nervously and Einjeru shrugs it off saying "Well it was a matter of time before you guys found out." Sasuke breathes a sigh of relief. Einjeru sighs and says "How's the Leaf?"

Sasuke smiles and says "Same as usual. Lady Tsunade working us like slaves and we're training our butts off in anticipation of yours and Naruto's return next year." Einjeru just realized that they couldn't see her properly. Anjera says "Are you ready for them to see you?" Einjeru smiles and says "Yes and I just realized they could barely see to begin with. Even though dad is used to this, Sasuke isn't."

Anjera chuckles and uses the fireball jutsu to light the room up. Sasuke looks at Einjeru in shock. In the past year she grew almost a foot, her hair was cut to the point that it almost looks like Kakashi's, She ended up having to get new clothes because of her growth and the fact her old ones got destroyed in training. Einjeru smiles and says "Not the same shorty that you saw when I left, am I?" Sasuke shakes his head and says "Not even Sakura changed this much."

Einjeru smiles and says "The village will be surprised when their second Hatake comes back." Kakashi says "I see you started wearing your forearm protectors." Einjeru smiled and said "These go better with my outfit now." Einjeru's clothes consisted of a black, mid-length sleeve, form fitting shirt with a silver stripe running down the sides; a pair of purple, form-fitting pants that are bandaged toward the bottom with a silver stripe running down the sides. She switched her blue sandals for black ones, and wears forearm protectors that go up to her shirt sleeve covered in metal plating and fingerless gloves.

Sasuke says "You've definitely changed up." Einjeru shrugs and says "Everything is form fitting so I don't have to worry about my clothes becoming a hindrance in battle." Kakashi then says "Where's your chunin vest?" Einjeru shrugs and says "I don't wear it while training. Tenzo appears holding it and says "She'll wear it back to the village."

Einjeru tries to put the vest on, but can't zip it up. "Oh my... I didn't expect to grow out of my vest." Kakashi chuckles and says "You're bigger than you thought you were." Einjeru turns red and Anjera punches Kakashi saying "You're making her more self-conscious about it." Sasuke looks and realizes Einjeru was not only taller but bigger. He gets a light dusting on his cheeks and Einjeru says "Uhhh... Sasuke? Could you stop looking at me like that? It's kind of creepy..."

Sasuke averts his gaze and Kakashi chuckles saying "You already know she's taken Sasuke." Sasuke looks confused and Kakashi says "Remember, she's got Naruto." Sasuke smiles and says "I know, but I'm still a guy." Einjeru face-palms and thinks "He'll have a chance the fifth of never." Kakashi, Anjera, and Sakumo laugh hearing the thought leaving Sasuke thinking "What are they laughing about?"

Kakashi stops and says "We just came to see Einjeru's progression. When we came in I was able to tell she was just training." Anjera says "Just before you got here we had a spar with limitations on the attacks used." Sasuke then says "What were the limitations?" Einjeru said "Mine were no ninjutsu or genjutsu. Moms' were no demon techniques." Kakashi says "She used the fireball jutsu on you." Einjeru sweat-dropped and said "She weaved the signs so fast... I was able to deflect it... Luckily."

Anjera smiles and says "She's grown a lot in the last year." Kakashi smiles and says "I could tell. She managed to get the jump on me, and knocked Sasuke on his back. What have you done to her?" Anjera said "Utilizing one her most valuable jutsu to the maximum potential. We managed to get 6 years of work done in one using the shadow clones." Einjeru included "She's been working me to the bone... The results will be more evident next year."

Tenzo says "Einjeru has not been lax. She's been working on improving the chidori and her chakra control on her spare time. She also improved the amount of clones she can create." Kakashi looks at Einjeru and says "Oh really?" Einjeru smiles and says "I can't become complacent with what I have. I have to keep working. Stagnancy only leads to death for a shinobi." Kakashi replies "Then it's time for you to learn a second chakra nature. Both your mother and I can utilize fire style so it shouldn't be a problem."

Einjeru remains quiet and Sasuke says "Sensei, Lady Tsunade is expecting us back at the village soon." Kakashi nods and says "It'll be good to see you back home next year." Einjeru walks with them until they get to the forest. Kakashi and Sasuke make it back to the village to see Sakura waiting on them. She looked ready to beat them to a bloody pulp.

Sasuke says "Oh great, Sakura is the one that's going to kill us." Sakura said in the sweetest voice "What kept you two?" Kakashi decides to nip this in the bud saying "We were visiting Einjeru as per instructed and last I checked I outranked you so show me the respect that you'd show any other jonin and high ranking shinobi." Sasuke says "So we're waiting for Naruto to return before we take the chunin exams again."

Sakura nods and says "Lady Tsunade wants Einjeru to re-take them." Kakashi's visible eye and Sasukes eyes widened. Sakura looks down and says "I don't know why." Kakashi shakes his head and says "Looks like she's waiting on a new chunin vest for now." Sakura and them head to Lady Tsunade's office to check in. Tsunade heard the knock on her door and she told them to come in.

Lady Tsunade says "I can understand your tardiness from this mission Kakashi. Einjeru is your daughter first and I understand you wanting to catch up with her after not seeing her in a year. How did Sasuke react to the assignment?" Kakashi chuckles and says "His world view has been changed." Sasuke then says "Einjeru has demonstrated six years of growth in this past year." Tsunade looks intrigued and says "She knows the multi-shadow clones. I wouldn't push it past her to use them in her training."

Kakashi then said "I've given her something extra to do." Sasuke says "Something I've been able to do since I was six." Sakura then said "What is it?" Kakashi replied "Learning fire style. Her mother was able to do it and I'm capable of using it. If we play our cards right, she'll have another chakra nature before she returns." Tsunade nods and says "I'm sure Sakura told you, but I want to have Einjeru re-take the exams with Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto when they return."

Kakashi nods and says "May I ask why?" Tsunade didn't get mad at the question, but was slightly annoyed. She then says "I know she got the promotion during Lord Thirds reign, but I've been hearing some things, and to squash any form of rebellion due to those things, I've decided to have her retake the chunin exams. I'm leaving her rank as chunin however. It's not like she won't be able to pass, and with what you're telling me she'll potentially make it to jonin."

Sasuke then says "Squad 7 will be ready this time." Sakura smiles and says "I have no intention of letting Einjeru do all the work this time." Sasuke smirks and says "I wonder where the blonde idiot is now..." Sakura then says "Knowing him, he's probably eating ramen." Kakashi shakes his head amused. Tsunade chuckles and says "He'll be back stronger than ever."

A few days later in another village, Naruto was in a taijutsu bout with Jiriaya. Jiriaya is enjoying the bout and Naruto gets him from behind. Jiriaya pops and the real one appears saying "You're not the only one who can use shadow clones kid." Naruto punches the ground saying "Damn it! I almost had you!" Jiriaya laughs and says "It's fifty years too early for you to get a hit on me."

Jiriaya laughs and breaks a popsicle in half handing one of the halves to Naruto. Naruto sees a girl that looks like Einjeru nearby and feels the bite she left. Einjeru was near a river with Tenzo and Anjera guarding. Naruto found his way to the river and saw Einjeru in a dress, but didn't recognize her. Her mouth started to hurt and she looked in Naruto's direction.

Naruto looks at her and thinks "What a cute girl." Einjeru giggles thinking "He doesn't even recognize me. He's an idiot, but my idiot." She splashes her face and stands up to walk off. Naruto wants to speak, but Einjeru speaks first saying "See you soon Naruto." She disappears leaving Naruto behind confused. Jiriaya appears saying "Well, the brat has grown."

Naruto turns around and says "What do you mean Pervy Sage?" Jiriaya sighs and says "You'll see." Naruto feels his neck again to feel it red hot. Jiriaya sees the motion and says "Something wrong?" Naruto shrugs and says "I don't know why, but that girl seems to trigger the bite that Einjeru left on me." Jiriaya was debating whether or not he should tell Naruto that the girl they saw _was_ Einjeru.

Meanwhile with Einjeru, she was trying to figure out why her mouth was hurting her when Naruto was near her. Anjera walked next to her and said "Mouth hurts after seeing your beloved after a year?" Einjeru blushed and said "He didn't recognize me but I'd recognize his blonde spiky hair anywhere." Anjera chuckles and says "You bit him with your baby canines. Haven't you noticed that you never lost any teeth, more particularly your canines?"

Einjeru shook her head. Anjera shivers at what comes next, leaving Einjeru to ponder what's going to happen. Kakashi in the meanwhile sneezed and said "I have a feeling someone is about to drop their baby teeth." Sasuke then says "Baby teeth?" Kakashi nods and says "While you guys lose your teeth around 6 and 7 years old, a demon loses their baby teeth when they fully mature. Someone is going to be in a whole new world of pain."

Kakashi and Sasuke finish their training for the day, and Kakashi heads over to the hokage office to give the update on Sasuke. Tsunade nods and Lord Third said "I don't think we'll have to worry about him seeking vengeance." Kakashi nods and says "I guess I'll leave him a few days of recuperation. He was pretty exhausted." Tsunade smiles and says "Is that an excuse for going to see Einjeru?"

Kakashi hangs his head and Lord Third chuckles saying "I don't see the big deal. However, I do want to see her as well. She and Naruto gave me a reason to look forward to the day and I kind of miss their sunshine like smiles." Kakashi nods and says "I think she's about to lose her baby teeth." Tsunade says "How?" Lord Third told her to look in the third drawer on the right for a red folder and explained that what she needed to know was in there.

Tsunade gives Kakashi his leave and Lord Third walks with him saying "She's probably changed a lot hasn't she." Kakashi nods and says "No doubt she'll recognize us, but if she's losing her teeth she'll most likely be growling in pain like I was before Minato sensei's death." Lord Third nods and says "I understand that too well Kakashi. Everyone can't stand that pain in their mouth."

They took a moderate pace to the mountain range, and Anjera and Tenzo greeted them handing them both a pair of ear plugs. Kakashi says "It's that bad huh?" Anjera nods and leads them to her room. Einjeru was screaming out in pain with blood dripping from her mouth. Kakashi says "This is worse than I expected." Einjeru spits out again and lays back down thinking "Stupid pain..."

Kakashi comes up and says "Well, someone is in a lot of pain." Einjeru growls at Kakashi saying "Not helping!" Kakashi sits her up and instructs her to keep her mouth open. He pulls out a special medicine and puts it on her gums. Sakumo comes in and says "So you still had that medicine." Kakashi shrugs and says "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Lord Third chuckles and Sakumo and Anjera kneeled before him. Lord Third says "How is being the demon queen Anjera?" Anjera had no words to say but "It was kinda lonely for 13 years." Lord Third nods and says "Yes, it had to have been quite lonesome running the shadows of our world by yourself. I felt an emptiness inside after the nine-tails attack when Biwako was killed."

Kakashi sighs and says "It has been a crazy time in the village after the nine-tails attack." Anjera sighs and says "The month after..." Lord Third says "Danzo has been branded as a rogue ninja and we've been smoking out those who were loyal to him in the ANBU forces." Tenzo says "I have no doubt he'll try and come back to try and snatch her again."

Kakashi and Anjera say simultaneously "Like that's going to happen." Einjeru remains quiet due to not having any teeth to speak with. Lord Third looks at Einjeru and smiles. She keeps her mouth closed and writes on a scroll "No teeth..." Lord Third laughs and says "I can tell." Kakashi says "Her canines will grow in first... No doubt she's in for a painful couple of months."

Einjeru writes on a scroll "WHY?!" Kakashi chuckles and says "Your body determined it was time. I can't tell your body when it's ready to do something. It does it on its own." Lord Third chuckles and Tenzo says "So this is going to last 2 months?" Anjera replies "It's dependent on the demon. For Einjeru it may be longer because of her human genetics. Or it may be faster. Who knows?" Kakashi sighs and says "I managed to break through that in 2 months and I am half... Einjeru is ¾. I'm pretty sure she'll make it through in 2 months."

Einjeru frowns and disappears. Kakashi sighs and Anjera face-palms. Sakumo says "I'll get her." He disappears and Kakashi says "We argued in front of her again." Anjera nods and says "We promised we wouldn't." Lord Third sits there and says "You two have differing views about Einjeru and what she'll do, but the only one who can determine that is her. You guys give her a reason to stray."

Meanwhile on the wolf's cliff, Einjeru sits there thinking "They always argue when it comes to me..." Sakumo says "Hey there little silver fang." Einjeru shrugs being unable to speak. The wind blows and Sakumo says "Don't worry about it. Your adult teeth will come in stronger than your baby teeth ever were. Wolves are known for their bites." Einjeru smiles for Sakumo to notice one of her canines poking through.

Einjeru feels it and mutters. Sakumo smiles and says "If you're lucky enough, you'll have all your adult teeth before the month's up. Lets just keep it between us for now." Einjeru nods and starts to walk with him. They come back to an awkward silence. She writes down "What's going on? It's too quiet..." Lord Third smiles and says "It is getting late Kakashi. We should head back to the Leaf." Kakashi nods and gives Einjeru a hug saying "I have no doubt you'll exceed all expectations. Just keep it up."

After they leave, Einjeru goes to sleep. Anjera says to Sakumo "What do you two have that I don't?" Sakumo says "I guess there's a certain touch you have to have." It took less than a month for all her adult teeth to grow in and she was able to speak again. Anjera smiles saying "Your pearly-whites have finally grown back in and you beat your fathers expectations."

Back in the leaf the rest of the genin that were part of their class were taking their chunin exams again. At the same time Sakura is training in her medical ninjutsu and Sasuke comes to the hospital to visit Kakashi who overdid it on a mission again. Sakura notices Sasuke coming in and said "If you're here to see Kakashi sensei, he was just checked out Sasuke."

Sasuke nods and says "You're treating him?" Sakura nods saying "Under the supervision of Lady Tsunade." Sasuke smiles and says "That's good. By the way have you heard from Einjeru?" Sakura shakes her head and says "Have you?" Sasuke replies "I went her to see a month and a half ago. It was the day that you wanted to hit us for taking our time." Sakura sighs and says "How is she? I haven't been out the village in a while."

Sasuke says "She looks like a female version of Kakashi. Hair and all except for the clothes and her using a mask to cover her face." Sasuke and Sakura were absent-mindedly walking around the hospital and were walking by Kakashi's room when that was said. Kakashi says from his bed "I heard you two. The mask is going to change soon." Sakura and Sasuke walk into his hospital room and say "What do you mean sensei?"

Kakashi chuckles and says "She'll be keeping her teeth hidden. I'm pretty sure most of her teeth have grown back and they're sharper than ever." Sakura says "She just lost her baby teeth last month?!" Kakashi nods and Sasuke shrugs. Sakura says "I don't know why she'd want to hide her teeth. I mean we already know that she isn't human." Sasuke says "It's more than that Sakura." Kakashi sat up abruptly and silenced Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized that the secret he was about to reveal was S-ranked. Sakura was confused and Kakashi says "The only way you're going to find out is if Lady Tsunade sends you on a mission with me." Sakura chuckles and says "A medical ninja should always go with _you_ sensei. You always come back injured to the point of death." Tsunade comes in and chuckles hearing that. Kakashi looks at Tsunade and hears her say "Sakura is right Kakashi. You always come back messed up unless you go visiting Einjeru first. Not to mention you haven't seen her since last month and haven't pushed the issue on it."

Kakashi says "She doesn't need me breathing down her back every second while she's training with her relatives." Sasuke thinks to himself "I think sensei is lying." Sakura then says "You did it all through the first chunin exam we took." Kakashi replies "That was then, this is now." Sasuke then says "Prove it." Sakura was shocked to hear that. She then says "Sasuke! This is a hospital and sensei is still recovering. If Einjeru saw this she'd kick your ass!"

At the same time Einjeru sneezes and has an urge to go to the village. Anjera says "I have a feeling that isn't going away..." Tenzo then says "I don't think that going to the village is a good idea." Sakumo then says "I don't see a problem in Einjeru going in her civilian clothes. Besides if Naruto didn't recognize her, who else in her class will?" Tenzo then says "Her chakra signature is very unique. Anyone can sense it."

Einjeru replies "But Tenzo, I have the ability to suppress it and not show exhaustion. Besides Lord Third already knows." Tenzo gets stunned by this and says "But how?" Shibura comes back with a note and Tenzo face-palms." Einjeru reads the note and says "Alright! Lord Third will be waiting at the main gate!" Einjeru changes into civilian clothes, more specifically the dress that Naruto saw her in.

They head over to the village and see Lord Third. He smiles and says "If I didn't know any better I'd swear you were someone else." Einjeru smiles and says "I normally don't wear a dress." She senses Sasuke's chakra flared and says "Well that explained my urge to come home." Lord Third nods and says "He's probably at the hospital visiting Kakashi." Einjeru nods and walks through the village to the hospital.

Upon getting to the hospital she signed in under her nickname and went to Kakashi's room. They look at the person that came in the door. Einjeru smiles and says "You're better off than I thought you were." Sakura not recognizing Einjeru says "Who are you?" No one could recognize her because of her suppressed chakra. Kakashi automatically recognized it and said "Flare your chakra."

Einjeru shakes her head and flares it. Sasuke goes rigid and Sakura gets excited saying "Einjeru! I was wondering when you were going to return." Einjeru puts her finger up and says "I'm not staying long. I had a sudden urge to return, and I discovered why. Sasuke?" He turned around and had a nervous smile on his face. Sakura then says "Sasuke was just trying to push people's buttons." Einjeru shook her head and said "I sensed his chakra flaring up from the village gate. I want an explanation to why that was done in my father's hospital room while he's supposed to be recovering."

Tsunade then said "This is a hospital. Not a place to fight." Einjeru says "I have no intention of fighting here and giving away my new tricks. I'm just looking for an answer." Sasuke says "I just thought that sensei may have been lying about him not breathing down your neck." Einjeru sighs and performs the summoning jutsu. She then says "That's why we summon our nin-ken." Pakkun chuckles and says "We're for more use than just on the battlefield kid." Kakashi chimes in saying "They are our most loyal companions. Did you think the Inuzuka's were the only dog handlers in the leaf village?"

Einjeru sends Pakkun back and drags Sasuke out the hospital. Tsunade sends Sakura behind them to make sure Einjeru didn't kill him. Sasuke was filled with something an Uchiha never showed; fear. Sakura saw it and followed Einjeru to a training field. Sasuke says "What's the big idea?" Einjeru shakes her head and says "I see you remembered the arrogant ways of your clan."

Sasuke glared at Einjeru and says "I remember everything, but decided against leaving the village knowing they'd send you after me." Einjeru shakes her head and says "Jealous?" Sasuke replies "Not in the slightest." Einjeru appears behind him with a kunai to the neck saying in a bone-chilling voice "Now that we understand each other, if you ever try something like that again where I can sense the killing intent from the mountains; I won't hesitate to put you in Intensive Care. Got it?!"

Sakura thinks to herself "Her demeanor has changed." Sasuke nods and Einjeru changes moods saying "Good! I'm glad we were able to have this talk." Sasuke remained rigid and Sakura expressed out-right worship in a sense. Einjeru all the while was suppressing her chakra. Sakura thought to herself "Einjeru is not to be played with. EVER." Einjeru smiles at Sakura and comes over saying "Lady Tsunade had you tag along?" Sakura nods and says "Want some dumplings?"

Einjeru shrugs and says "I'm not a big fan of sweets, but sure." They head over to the dumpling shop. Lord Third was watching them conversing. Sakura asked Einjeru if she had heard from Naruto recently. Einjeru replies saying "I saw him last month by accident. He didn't recognize me." Sakura chuckles and says "Typical Naruto." Einjeru blushes and says "I didn't know it was possible, but he got cuter."

Sasuke says "What makes him so special?" Einjeru froze at that question and says "Sounds like something Naruto said when we first started at the academy, and you were getting all the fan-girls." Sasuke nearly choked on his dumpling and Sakura chuckles. Einjeru eats a dumpling and says "That's why us girls were always at odds in the academy." Einjeru finishes her dumplings and says "I'm gonna go visit my dad in the hospital and then I have to meet my friend at the village gate. See you guys."

After Einjeru left, Sasuke had a light dusting on his cheeks and Sakura says "Are you feeling okay?" Sasuke nods and says "Einjeru has changed a lot, hasn't she?" Sakura nods and says "No doubt she is stronger, but for now her new found strength is an enigma. She can and will kill if necessary now." Sasuke nods and finishes his dumplings saying "We've gotten stronger too. We'll fly through our next chunin exams." Sakura nods and says "You don't think that Einjeru is letting her strength go to her head, do you?"

Sasuke says "No. It probably would go to my head." Sakura says "I doubt that Sasuke." Sasuke leaves saying "I have to go meet up with my temporary team for my mission. Shouldn't you be heading back to the hospital?" Sakura jumps up and says "Oh my god you're right!" She pays for the dumplings and runs out of there. She gets back to the hospital.

In Kakashi's room, all Einjeru wanted to do was pull her ears off. Kakashi was going on and on about how reckless coming to the village was. Einjeru then says "It's not like anyone of the village recognized me. As far as anyone knows, I am a visitor. As long as my chakra is suppressed, no one suspects a thing." Kakashi sighs and says "I know you've grown, but I still think it isn't safe." Einjeru growls in frustration and says "Says the one who's laid up in a hospital bed."

Tenzo appears and says "I assume tensions are high?" Einjeru sighs in resignation and says "I only wanted to pop in one more time to check on you dad. I was getting ready to go. To be honest, I hate wearing dresses. This makes me want to be in my combat gear so bad." Kakashi chuckles nervously and says "About your chunin vest... Lady Tsunade wants you to retake the chunin exams."

Einjeru did not display any shock and simply said "That's fine. I want to earn my promotion the traditional way." Kakashi says "Lady Tsunade however is keeping your rank as chunin. She has no doubt in your ability to attain your rank." Einjeru nods and says "But you do. I'm not doing this because I feel inadequate. I'm doing it to prove a point to you."

Einjeru turns around and says "See you in 10 months dad." She walks out the hospital and starts heading towards the village gate. Tenzo starts to follow after Kakashi says "Please make sure she doesn't kill herself in training." At the village gate, Tenzo says to Einjeru "Your father is going to worry. It's his nature." Einjeru shakes her head and says "I understand... senpai."

Tenzo chuckles and says "I guess I earned that title and you the title of kohai." They walk back to the mountain range and Sakumo stands in the entrance way smiling. Einjeru runs up and hugs Sakumo tightly saying "I guess my real killing intent wasn't flared when I threatened Sasuke?" Sakumo nods and says "The puppy dog killing intent was what I sensed. That's good." Einjeru's eyes widened and she said "Sasuke was fucking frozen when I threatened him."

Tenzo says "Even if you release only a little killing intent and it looks like a puppy dog, someone who isn't used to the potency would freeze." Einjeru shakes her head and says "Lady Tsunade hasn't really sent Sasuke or Sakura on any missions too much so they could focus on training." Sakumo nods and says "Your level of training is beyond anything that anyone is the village can match, besides Naruto, but he has his own training that only he can do."

Einjeru shakes her head and says "Isn't it almost time for a spar?" Sakumo shakes his head and said "Your mom had some urgent business to attend to." Einjeru shrugs and says "If that's the case, could you teach me Earth style Tenzo?" Tenzo then says "Why?" Einjeru summons Pakkun to explain. Pakkun appears and says "There's a particular jutsu that we nin-ken can use in collaboration with the Earth style. It's called Summoning: Earth Style: Fanged Pursuit Jutsu. Is this the reason Einjeru?" Einjeru nods and Tenzo nods saying "It never hurts to have another chakra nature under your belt." Einjeru smirks and says "Next year I'll have three chakra natures under my belt and be able to use some techniques unique to my mother."

Tenzo says "I wouldn't go flaunting that." Einjeru nods and says "Shall we begin senpai?" Tenzo nods and Einjeru makes as many shadow clones as she possibly could to start learning the earth style manipulation. Sakumo says "With this many shadow clones she'll have the mastery like someone with the affinity in a short amount of time." Einjeru grins along with her shadow clones and says "Where do we begin?!"

By the time Anjera made it back from her venture, Einjeru was sprawled out on the floor exhausted. Tenzo smiles nervously and says "We've been working on the Earth style while you were gone." Anjera nods and says "We'll be working her to the bone. By the time the year is up she'll want nothing more than sleep." Tenzo nods and Sakumo chuckles and says "Are you sure you can do it?" Einjeru gives a thumbs up and falls asleep.

At the same time Naruto was sitting with a trio of clones meditating. In his mindscape, there was a forest and Kurama sat there thinking " **This kid would have a remarkable career as a photographer.** " Naruto says "Hey Kurama, isn't there a way that I can explain to the Pervy Sage that I can control your chakra without doing it. It tires me out." Kurama shakes his head and says " **You still have to learn to control your strength when using the chakra cloak. Just go into version one chakra mode.** "

Naruto does so and Jiriaya was surprised that Naruto was able to maintain control despite only doing it once. Jiriaya says to Naruto "How are you able to do that without losing control?" Naruto shrugs and says "You know you asked me that when we did the training for the chunin exam third rounds before they were cancelled?" Jiriaya says "I'm just curious because in the course of history never befriends a tailed beast like that." Naruto shrugs and starts to explain.

 _Flashback_ :

It was the month before the third rounds and Jiriaya obnoxiously says "I'm going to teach you how to tap into the foxes power and summon toads." Naruto shrugs and sits to meditate. Jiriaya looks at him curious. Naruto was perfectly still and quiet. When he opened his eyes in his mind, he saw a dark, dingy sewer." He thinks to himself "Is my mind always this dark and gloomy?"

He comes across a cage with a piece of paper that says seal. An ominous voice sounds off saying " **Hey! What are you doing here?!** " Naruto stands firm and says "I'm here to talk. First of all, the name's Naruto." The ominous voice replies " **You of the Leaf know me as the demon fox that destroyed the village, but my name is Kurama.** " Naruto nods and says "Well now that introductions are out of the way, is there anything I can do to make your stay inside me more pleasant?"

Kurama was stunned by this question and remained quiet for a moment. Naruto was confused and said "Did I do something wrong?" Kurama then says " **No. I was shocked... I never expected this.** " Naruto shrugs and still waits for an answer. Kurama smirks and says " **Here I thought that you were the impatient one. Well first things first, can you change this landscape? It's depressing.** "

Naruto nods and changes the scenery to a forest. Kurama was impressed and Naruto says "It was kind of depressing to me as well. Is this better?" Kurama nods and says " **Plenty. Now what brings you here?** " Naruto says "I need your help." Kurama thinks about the events that transpired in his life before he got sealed in Naruto. He then says " **I have a proposition for you.** " Naruto scratches his head and says "What's a proposition?"

Kurama said " **They really screwed you over didn't they? A proposition is a deal of sorts.** " Naruto says "What kind of deal?" Kurama says " **Suspicious, aren't we? The deal is that I'll help you out in a pinch, but you must destroy a certain person in an orange mask.** " Naruto says "But how will I know?" Kurama shrugs and says " **He has a sharingan eye that matches your sensei.** " Naruto then was shocked and asks how it's possible leaving Kurama to shrug as he simply didn't know.

Naruto thinks about it and says "It's a deal, but I could use your help now. My pervy master wants me to use your chakra to summon toads." Kurama smiles and says " **Ok, but I may teach you things as well. Be ready whenever I decide to pull you in your mind.** " Naruto nods and opens his eyes to see he was covered in yellow chakra. He looks at himself and Kurama says from within Naruto's mind " **I'm gonna munch on your chakra once in a while.** "

 _Presently_ :

Jiriaya shakes his head and says "I'm not sure whether or not to tighten your seal or not." Naruto grumbles thinking "He doesn't even trust me..." Jiriaya sighs and says "I don't sense any malice or anything so I'll leave it alone." Naruto smiles and says "You're the best Pervy Sage!" Naruto grabs Jiriaya in a vice like hug leaving the latter unable to breathe and struggling to say "Your strength is unmatched... Now if you'd be so kind as to let me go... It would be much appreciated."

Naruto lets Jiriaya go and says "So now what?" Jiriaya smiles and says "Let's try and control the strength so you don't accidentally kill someone when you have them in your grip." Naruto smiles sheepishly and says "My bad... I guess Kurama is right about controlling my strength in this form." Jiriaya strokes his chin and says "We need some new chakra control exercises for you. Make some shadow clones."

Naruto does and Jiriaya says "I want you to redo the tree climbing and water walking exercises using your chakra cloak." Naruto nods and directs half of his clones to do the water walking and the other half to do the tree climbing. Jiriaya was impressed that Naruto was able to use his shadow clones to this point with the mass amount of chakra he had.

After a couple hours, Naruto was worn out and the chakra dissipated. Jiriaya comes up to him and says "I'm impressed kid." Naruto gives a thumbs up and falls asleep. Jiriaya then notices that Naruto's chakra presence is reduced. He thinks to himself "Naruto's pursuers will have a hard time trying to track him."

Itachi was walking through the forest and came across the mountains. Einjeru wakes up and smells him. "How did he find his way up here?" That was all that was going through Einjeru's mind when she went to switch into her combat gear and Hidden Leaf headband. Itachi got to the entrance to be met with a kick to the face. Upon coming out of his daze he saw Einjeru who wasn't too happy to see him.

Itachi shakes his head and stands up saying "You've changed a bit. That was cold considering our little chat last year. What are you doing at a mountain range with a high concentration of demon aura?" Einjeru revealed her ears, tail and claws, flaring her chakra saying "Did you forget what I was?" Itachi then says "Your killing intent is present more than ever. However, you can't kill me."

Einjeru growls and says "I don't have time for this Itachi. I gave your brother a death threat when I went to the leaf village for a visit. I won't hesitate to use that threat on you and carry it out. Now what are you doing here at my mother's home?" Itachi then says "That explains it. You don't have to worry, I'm not here on purpose. I found the mountains by accident. We lost track of Naruto's chakra signature."

Einjeru shakes her head and says "I can still sense him through my bite, but I wouldn't tell you anything to save my life." Itachi smiles and says "Loyal as always, eh Ms. Hatake." Einjeru shakes her head and says "Sasuke remembers everything now, but refuses to leave the village because of the repercussions of last time." Itachi chuckles and says "Where you broke his neck and in turn all of your appendages?"

Einjeru shakes her head and says "Don't you have a partner to meet up with?" Itachi replies "Kisame? He's an idiot who resorts to fighting first." Einjeru sighs and says "So does Naruto, and your point is?" Itachi chuckles and says "He at least comes up with a strategy during battle and it works for him." Einjeru says "I can sense him getting closer to here. I suggest you get going before I'm forced to clean up house alerting my guardian, mom and grandpa."

Itachi nods and says "Until our next battle, princess." Einjeru turns red with fury thinking "I don't like being called princess." Itachi disappears and meets up with Kisame saying "There's nothing here." Kisame replies "But Itachi, there's a high concentration of demon chakra here." Itachi shakes his head and says "There are many types of demons. There are none that match the nine-tails malevolence."

Kisame disregards what Itachi has to say and goes toward the mountain. Einjeru sighs and thinks "Itachi was right. Kisame is an idiot." Kisame gets to the entrance and sees Einjeru. He smiles and says "You were the brat that I grabbed when I was in the village." Einjeru huffs and says "I remembered turning your clone into a fish fry, Hoshigaki."

Kisame laughs and says "Not this time brat!" Einjeru laughs it off saying "You're on my playing field. I'm going to make you regret not listening to Itachi." Tenzo hears this and runs outside using wood style to separate Einjeru and Kisame. Itachi appears and says "Kisame we have no business here. You'll upset the demon queen if you hurt her daughter." Einjeru smirks and says "Do you want to chance the wrath of my mother?"

Kisame laughs and says "I'll believe that when I see it. Until then; Water style: Exploding Water Shockwave" All of a sudden out of nowhere someone calls out "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." The water evaporates, and Anjera appears saying "I heard everything Hoshigaki. You should've listened to your partner." Itachi gets fretful and Kisame laughs. Einjeru says "Itachi was right. You are an idiot." He appears behind Einjeru and grabs her by the neck.

Einjeru popped and reappeared in her full demon form punching Kisame in the face. He looks at her saying "Ok... So you punched me." He unleashes Samehada. Einjeru gulps and Itachi casts a paralysis genjutsu on Kisame saying "You really would test a demon. Idiot." Einjeru pulls out the White Light Chakra Saber to Kisame's surprise. Itachi chuckles at Kisame's expense.

Einjeru says "You know what this weapon is, don't you?" Kisame replies "That weapon was what gave the white fang his name." Einjeru smirks and says "What does he have to do with me?" Kisame was confused and Sakumo came out in a transformation. Kisame says "That's not possible! The White Fang killed himself 22 years ago!" Einjeru says "You know nothing of the Hatake bloodline trait. We're demons! When a demon's human form dies, their animal form goes to live on in nature. My grandfather just passed into his animal form, so the White Light Chakra Saber got passed down."

Kisame then says "How did you end up with it brat? It was destroyed in the third great ninja war at Kannabi bridge." Einjeru snarkly replies "It was reforged by the copy ninja. He gave it to me himself." Kisame then says "How is the guy?" Einjeru snorts and says "Like I'd tell you how my father is doing." Sakumo then says "Calm down. Your inner demon will take over if you don't. I really don't want to remind you the last time that happened."

Einjeru sighs and says "I got this grandpa." Anjera says "The last time you went berserk was devastating." Einjeru sighs and says "I know mom... You don't need to remind me. I kept the bruises from Tenzo's wood style to remind me." Kisame laughs and Itachi says "I'm going to take him and go." Anjera looked at Einjeru who had a begrudging look on her face. Itachi and Kisame disappeared.

Anjera says to Einjeru "You did a good job keeping composure." Einjeru reverts to normal and goes inside. Tenzo says to Anjera "She refuses to heal the bruises on her wrists and back. If she doesn't before go back, Kakashi is going to kill someone, namely me." Anjera sighs and says "I won't make any guarantees. Einjeru has been really pushy when it comes to her injuries."

Einjeru goes into her room and flops on her bed. Images of the leaf and squad 7 pop into her head. She goes to sleep for Sakumo to cover her up and give her a wolf plush. He smiles thinking "Not as independent as Kakashi, but sure as cute." Meanwhile Kakashi sneezes. Einjeru snores and Anjera comes in and says "I'm surprised. I guess talking about hurting Naruto really influences it."

Sakumo chuckles and says "Maybe, we are fiercely loyal to our mates and kin. When we lose our mates we go into a severe depression. Kakashi was too young to remember his mother, and never was able to warm up to others, until he met you." Anjera smiles sadly and says "I sensed that he was really depressed after my death. I was pissed that I wasn't able to see Einjeru grow up and spent most of the last fourteen years cursing Danzo for it."

Sakumo says "I understand you. Maybe if I had fought through my depression, then maybe Kakashi wouldn't have had to suffer so much." Einjeru woke up hearing that and feigned sleep. She thinks to herself "I will work hard, so I don't leave everyone alone." Anjera rubs Einjeru's head and says "I have no doubt that she can make it." They leave her room.

With 10 months left in their training, squad 7 was working hard to prepare the test that would bring them together or break them apart forever. Naruto was busting his butt in controlling Kurama's chakra , Sasuke's sharingan was maturing and Sakura was getting stronger. Einjeru kept using the shadow clones to her max and trying to learn her new chakra natures. What will happen when the squad reunites completely for the first time in two years?


	14. Chapter 14

Squad 7 Reunites/Big Surprise

Einjeru huffs for breath after training with Anjera and Tenzo. In the village, Kakashi is running Sasuke into the ground in training. With Jiriaya and Naruto taking their time walking back to the village, Naruto says to Jiriaya "Hey Pervy Sage? Why are we taking our time?" Jiriaya laughs and says "We're waiting for a couple of friends to catch up." Naruto groans and hops up in a tree.

Einjeru collapses and says "Aren't we done yet?" Anjera nods and helps Einjeru up. Tenzo sees a messenger bird fly in and goes to see the message. He chuckles upon reading it knowing the levity involved. He comes back and says "Naruto grows impatient waiting for us." Einjeru chuckles and gets ready to head out. Anjera comes up and says "Don't use your mark unless absolutely necessary. Your body still can't handle it."

Einjeru looks down sullenly at her uncovered forearm and pulls her forearm protector and un-fingered glove on her right arm and hand respectively. Tenzo looks at her with a warm, ginger smile, waiting for her to take the first steps towards the Hidden Leaf and a certain blonde. She took her first steps outside the cave that didn't involve having to go to another demonic region and learning about to fight other types of demons.

Sakumo decides to walk back with them under the guise of Shirobuki. Einjeru groans after the lost argument with her mother about him walking with them. Sakumo gives a gentle smile and says "What's wrong with seeing you home?" Einjeru huffs and refuses to speak knowing that she would say something disrespectful. She storms ahead leaving Tenzo to talk with him.

Sakumo smiles sadly and says "Well I don't blame her… I give her more leeway and trust than her own parents… She is stronger than she is given credit for. Because of that she has self-doubt." Tenzo nods and thinks "All that training she put herself through, she never complained, she just did under me and Sakumo, but when it came to her mother, she complained every step of the way." Sakumo looks at him with an inquisitive look and keeps his comment to his self.

The sun is at the highest point in the sky signaling high noon. Tenzo notices Einjeru reach for her fanny pouch and grab some food pills. He walks up to her and says "You know those are for missions right?" She ignores him due to her hunger. He grabs her arm and hands her a protein bar for energy. The words he didn't speak she understood through his facial expressions.

Meanwhile, Naruto hangs in a tree saying "Einjeru is proving to have a worse track record than Kakashi sensei." Jiriaya says "It is a distance. Also, knowing you if you were her, you'd probably be hungry, so in her case, they probably stopped for something." Naruto groans. At this point Shibura came up with a scroll around her neck. Jiriaya takes the scroll and reads it.

He sighs and hands the scroll to Naruto. Naruto reads the scroll and says "Come on! This isn't fair!" Einjeru says the same thing when Tenzo suggests stopping. She then says "Haven't we kept master Jiriaya and Naruto waiting enough? I already can bet he's saying that I'm worse than my father!" Sakumo chuckles and says "He can wait a little more. Your health comes first."

Jiriaya looks at Naruto who starts walking in the direction that Einjeru is supposed to come from. Jiriaya grabs him and gives him a look that was already understood, but all of a sudden a poof of smoke appears and Naruto appears walking in a direction opposite of the Hidden Leaf. Jiriaya looks at Naruto, stunned that he was able to do that at that kind of speed and not be noticed switching out.

Einjeru notices the movement and sighs. "Yup, he definitely thinks that I'm worse than my father… I'm going to kill him." She starts walking again to this time have Sakumo walking by her and Tenzo hanging back. Einjeru sighs and gulps. "You know… Grandpa, I can take care of myself." Sakumo nods and says in a reassuring voice "I know you can my little Silver fang, but there are people and demons that can and will target you. You're of that age now. Not only is the Hatake clans fate resting on your shoulders, but the royal bloodline." She groans and continues onward. "I hate having this conversation. At this point, I would've preferred to be an orphan."

All of a sudden, a certain head of blonde, spiky hair appeared. Einjeru noticed and sniffed the air. Upon catching Naruto's ramen filled scent, she ran up to him excited. Naruto saw a familiar blend of black, silver and purple coming up to him faster than he can react. Before he realized it, he was on the ground with Einjeru on top of him and nuzzling the mark she left.

Naruto looks at her and his eyes widen. Jiriaya comes up and sees Einjeru's figure. "Wow! A lot has changed about since we last saw you! Your figure is a 10!" Naruto jumps up and says "Pervy Sage! No!" Sakumo comes up and Jiriaya cowered. Naruto smiles instantly and points at him. "Shirobuki! It's been a while!" Sakumo nods and expected some sort of a hug. Naruto looks at him confused and Einjeru says, "He's a hugger. When he knows someone he hugs them."

With the height difference, Naruto when he hugged Sakumo in his Shirobuki form, inadvertently picked him up off the ground. Sakumo says "Well you've grown some." Naruto chuckles and sets Sakumo down. Tenzo comes up to them and looks at Naruto in a critical manner. "So… How do you do? We never officially met." Einjeru pales realizing he's using his Yamato persona.

Sakumo then asks Einjeru why she was paling. Einjeru gestured to Tenzo/Yamato. "I know him as senpai or Tenzo. He asks me to call him Yamato in front of others, but it's unbearably uncomfortable." Sakumo nods and stands next to her. "It'll get somewhat better because I have a feeling he'll be leading you and the rest of the team you're on in the future." Einjeru pales even more and Jiriaya notices.

In the village, Sakura was retrieving the pedestrian report for Tsunade. She gets to the main gate and sees Izumo and Kotetsu. "Hey Izumo, Kotetsu. Any news on our shinobi returns?" Izumo shakes his head. "I wish I had some news on Naruto and Einjeru. Kakashi came here earlier as well." Sakura looks at them and shakes her head. "Kakashi sensei was here too?" Kotetsu nods. "He was with Sasuke. It's quite weird, it's been almost nine years since we saw him with one of Jiriaya's books. Thinking about that, around the time he ditched the books was when Einjeru came into his life."

Sakura chuckles and says "Well, thanks for that interesting tidbit. I have to get this back to Lady Tsunade now. See you guys later!" She starts heading towards the hokage tower. At the same time, a certain cat was evading the latest group of genin. Konohamaru and company were nothing but silhouettes in the sun. The cat ended up running into an alley and trapped itself.

Two of the three stood in front of the cat. The boy who was standing there had glasses and had a nasally voice. "Konohamaru. We have the cat in our sight, but I don't know for how long. Hurry!" The girl confers this and Konohamaru jumps down saying "Udon! Moegi! You two worry too much and GOT YOU!" He grabbed the cat to have his face clawed out.

A few minutes later, the trio stands in Tsunade's office giving the brief. Their sensei, Ebisu lectured them about how long it took them to find a lost cat. Konohamaru sat down saying "I already know where this is leading sensei. Kakashi's team seven has the record for the track down of Tora, and how we were supposed to have beaten that already. We're not a five-man team nor do we have two tracking specialists on our team."

Ebisu immediately got on the defensive and says "I wasn't going to say that! You little brats have no idea what it means to be shinobi!" Konohamaru sighs and Tsunade gets ready to assign them to a new mission. Konohamaru flat out rejected it. Ebisu apologized and Sakura came in to give the pedestrian report. Tsunade smiles and says "You three will be given D-Ranks until you beat team Kakashi's record of 20 minutes."

Konohamaru smirks with a definite affirmation. "I will beat team Kakashi's record. I'm going to be 7th hokage someday!" Tsunade nearly spat out her tea. "What about 6th?" Konohamaru laughs and shakes his head. "That's Naruto's!" Sakura smiles thinking, "Naruto did always say he wants to be hokage. I wonder how much he's grown. I wonder what Einjeru has done since her 'death promise' visit."

Tenzo, Jiriaya, Sakumo, Naruto and Einjeru are walking to the village in utter silence. Tenzo pulls Einjeru back and gives her that creepy look. "Look at me and call me Yamato in front of the others." Einjeru instantly averted her eyes and says "I already do, but it's very uncomfortable senpai." He looks at her sternly saying "Call me Yamato. I know I am your senior, but everyone outside of you, Kakashi and ANBU, know me as Yamato."

Einjeru nods saying "Yes Yamato…" He looks at her and makes a wooden wolf. She looks at it and takes it in stride. She goes to catch up leaving Yamato to think "She still has growing to do, but she won't do it alone." As pictures of the people of the leaf that have interacted with Einjeru in a positive way popped in his head he started to move forward saying to himself, "Kakashi senpai, thank you for the chance to raise your daughter as my junior."

Back in the village Kakashi had a sneeze. He continued as though nothing happened. "Is someone thinking of me?" Crossed his mind as he continued doing his mission. Sasuke gives his traditional apathetic demeanor as he followed. They get to the hokage office and give their report. Tsunade looks at them and says "They're coming home today." Sasuke humphs saying "What does that mean for us?"

Tsunade then turns to the window saying "It means your squad will be whole again, and you guys will take proper missions again." Kakashi underneath his calm exterior was excited to see how much Naruto has grown. Sasuke shrugs saying "May I be excused?" In getting the nod, he heads for the door to open it just to see Sakura.

"Oh! Sasuke! How have you been?" Sasuke looks at Sakura, surprised that she didn't squeal or do anything like when they first graduated. He then says to her, "Just a check in with the hokage. I could ask the same of you." Sakura nods saying "I'm the hokage's apprentice. I go around the village assisting her while she works in the office."

Tsunade decided to have the three of them go and greet them when they get close. "You guys will be going to meet them as they get close. I have a feeling Izumo and Kotetsu will attack Einjeru because they don't know what she looks like now. They didn't even recognize her in civilian clothing." Three of them nod.

Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and Asuma return from a mission. Choji starts off with his famous line "Let's get something to eat." Ino groans and says "This is why you're so Fa…" Her mouth was covered before that last consonant was said. "I'm sorry Ino… Did you say something?" Shikamaru thought to himself, "Even Naruto and Einjeru avoid using that word around Choji. You'd think that Ino would understand that by now." Ino then said "No! Not a word."

Asuma sighs thinking "How these three made it to be chunin is beyond me. I hope Kakashi's team isn't this dysfunctional after being apart for so long." He walks to the hokage tower to give his report. On his way, he saw 3 of the 5 members and said "Those two are due soon huh?" Kakashi nods saying "We're heading to the gate now to receive them. Lady Tsunade is afraid that Izumo and Kotetsu will attack Einjeru because of her appearance change."

Asuma nods and says "Has she really become a mini-you Kakashi?" Kakashi nods saying "In a sense, but not completely." Shikamaru walks up hoping to just talk with Asuma for a few. He sees Sasuke and Sakura thinking "I forgot those two were still gone. Those guys are the ones I like the most."

At this point, Einjeru and Naruto are having a race to the village. "Catch me if you can Uzumaki! At this point you're going to eat my demon dust!" Einjeru laughs getting in reply from Naruto "In your dreams Einjeru!" They get close to the village gate, a cloud of dust behind them. They get to the gate simultaneously, Naruto saying "I won! I won! In your face!" Einjeru shakes her head in the negative saying "This was a draw."

Izumo and Kotetsu immediately recognized Naruto and looked at Einjeru as if she was a foreigner even though she was wearing her hidden leaf headband. Jiriaya, Tenzo and Sakumo came up behind saying "You guys are too quick for your own good." Sakumo chuckles saying "That dust cloud could rival Guy and Kakashi's when they race."

Tenzo then sees Kotetsu and Izumo looking at Einjeru like she was an outsider. He sighs, clearing his throat and says "Einjeru, you need to pull out your ID." She pales, forgetting that her appearance was different than the last time she was seen by most of the villagers that knew her. She wasn't suppressing her chakra like she was on the visit prior, so they know she has shinobi capability. She pulls it out and shows it to them.

Izumo and Kotetsu immediately get on the defensive saying "You have to be kidding me. No way that Kakashi's brat grew like that after two years." Tenzo tenses thinking "This will end badly if Einjeru has to defend herself. Anjera told her to fight every time as if her life is on the line." Naruto looks at Einjeru in a questioning manner, before Sakumo yells out "Get out the way you two!"

As soon as it was yelled out, Einjeru was dodging a fist to her face. She back-flipped with the agility that she was gifted with. "Izumo, Kotetsu calm down. It's me." Kotetsu then says "Oh really? Then tell me where Kakashi's books are!" He comes at her with a kunai and she deflects it with the white light chakra saber. "Is my dad still on that?! I will never reveal the location of those repulsive books!"

Sakumo laughs at that and Tenzo sighs. All of a sudden 4 familiar voices ring out; one of them being Kakashi saying "Stop it! This is not the way hidden leaf acts towards those coming in. Einjeru, put the white light chakra saber away." Upon hearing Kakashi's voice, Einjeru withdrew the white light chakra saber. "I was only defending myself. Izumo and Kotetsu attacked first."

Naruto sighed in relief. "Kakashi sensei! It's true! She was talking with Yamato and Shirobuki!" Sasuke, Sakura and Shikamaru came up trying to piece together why Izumo and Kotetsu were attacking someone like that. Sasuke comes forward saying "This is Einjeru. I'm surprised you guys can't tell the resemblance between her and Kakashi." Sakura comes up with a killing intent similar to Tsunades. Kakashi shakes his head saying "Einjeru, Naruto, get settled into the village. All four of you, meet up at the 7th training ground in two hours."

Naruto and Einjeru nodded in the affirmative, and walked towards their apartment building. Sakura and Sasuke decided to follow them and catch up. With Naruto and Einjeru, they were just walking quietly. It was as if they were in a silent trance that only they could break and summon forth at will. Sakura and Sasuke immediately think to themselves "What has those two so quiet?"

Einjeru sighs internally thinking "I am not going to hear the end of using the white light chakra saber… Oh well." Naruto was having a mental talk with Kurama. All of a sudden, Naruto had a sudden outburst. Einjeru's eyes widened in shock of her internal silence being broken. Sakura and Sasuke look at those two and say "What's up with this?"

Einjeru shakes her head as if silently saying "You don't want to know." She takes an over-exaggerated sigh, continues walking to the apartment and thinks to herself "Naruto must be having an argument about something. His chakra is rushing around his coils." Naruto is trying to calm himself down after his loud outburst.

In his mindscape, Naruto is yelling at Kurama saying "Kurama! What the hell?! You made me embarrass myself in front of everyone!" Kurama gives a deep, hearty laugh saying " **I did nothing but state the obvious. Whether or not you take it with a grain of salt or not is up to you. You're the one who can't keep his raging hormones under control. Not to mention that bite that the Hatake brat gave you. It reacts in different ways based on her mood. I'm surprised you didn't notice.** "

Naruto has a question mark appear on top of his head. Kurama face-paws and says " **When she's in pain, your mark burns. When she's near you and happy, a warm sensation washes over. When she's feeling lonely, the mark hurts you like a bruise."** Naruto says "So that's why it was warm that day, I saw that girl. That girl _was_ Einjeru." Kurama face-paws again. " **Either way, you are dense and need to get sharp again.** "

At the apartment building, Einjeru unlocked the door to the landlords' apartment, walking in and seeing it as clean as she left, but dusty. She inhales some of the dust and coughs. "Dear Kami dad! Ever heard of dusting the apartment?" Immediately, the window was opened and Einjeru grabbed the duster. "I have 2 hours. No one knows that I learned a transportation technique. I can be at the training grounds in 2 seconds, but this apartment needs serious dusting."

Naruto upon entering his apartment had the same deal with the dusty apartment. "I wonder how Einjeru faired with her space." He sounded like he was hacking up a lung, coughing out the dust from the apartment. "I don't have time to dust and clean right now. Oh well." He looks at the old squad photo and smiles thinking of the fond memory.

An hour and a half passed and Einjeru had finished the dusting to see the squad photo had cracked. Her eyes widened as she knew something of this nature was like an omen. Kakashi came in the door to see Einjeru practically frozen. "Hey pup. What's wrong?" Einjeru's eye twitched as she continued looking. "The squad photo… it's cracked." Kakashi looked and saw it was centered around Sasuke.

Naruto started heading out the door when all of sudden, CRASH! He looks to see the picture of the squad on the floor. "Oh man… The squad photo broke!" He picks it up and sees spider web like cracks surrounding Sasuke. "That's really weird. I wonder if this happened with Kakashi sensei or the others." Kurama sounded off saying " **This is an omen brat. Watch your back around the Uchiha.** "

Kakashi looks at Einjeru and says "Head to the training ground. If Sakura is there, you are to ask her if her picture cracked." Einjeru nods and performs the signs for the teleportation technique. She appeared in the 7th training grounds, and sees Sakura and Sasuke. She walks up to them as if everything is normal and asks Sakura to come with her under the pretense that it was a girl problem.

When they got far enough from Sasuke, Einjeru said to Sakura "I lied. I need to ask you if…" Sakura immediately cut Einjeru off as if she knew what was going to be said. "You're going to ask if my squad photo cracked, aren't you?" Einjeru nodded in the affirmative. She gave a body gesture, expecting Sakura to say more. She took the gesture as a means to continue. "The crack… it was centered around…" She couldn't find the heart to say what needed to and Einjeru sighed in defeat. "Sasuke?" Sakura nodded sadly asking "You too?" Einjeru nodded back and heard an obnoxious blonde coming.

Naruto yelled out to them. "Einjeru! Sakura! Kakashi sensei is waiting on us!" Einjeru nods coming up to him. He whispers "Did your photos crack too?" Einjeru groans thinking "This is really bad." They walk back to Sasuke and Kakashi who immediately looked at Einjeru who nodded back to him. As in a silent understanding, Kakashi continued on as if nothing was going on. "First of all, welcome back to the village Naruto and Einjeru."

Sakura looks at Kakashi, Einjeru and Naruto confused. "Sensei? Why are we here? Isn't something going on?" Einjeru looked at Sakura with a genuine look. As if there was nothing to be mentioned, Sakura looked in Einjerus eyes, curious. Her body gestures basically said "Remain calm, he is aware. Sasuke is not to know. For now, we act as if everything is normal."

Kakashi looks at them, a watchful look in his eye. In his mind he says "Einjeru is making sure damage control is taking place with Sakura through bodily gestures. Sakura seems to be paying attention intently. Naruto is acting like nothing happened meaning Einjeru showed him through actions and Sasuke is completely in the dark. This should be okay." He then says to them "Time for a test!" They look at him like he's nuts.

Sakura then says "What test?! I mean Naruto and Einjeru just returned." Sasuke smirks saying "Another bell test? They're getting old Kakashi." Einjeru laughs at Sakura and Sasuke saying "If they're so old, we should be able to get the bells then, shouldn't we?" Naruto says "We'll get those bells, believe it!" Einjeru thinks to herself "No one has personal interests this time around, so no doubt we'll get them. Let's see how our teamwork has been influenced after two years apart, shall we?"

Kakashi looks at his determined squad saying "The rules are the same as last time. Do anything you can to get these bells away from me. I don't care how. If…" "We don't come at you with the intent to kill, we'll never get them! We got it sensei." Einjeru and Naruto tighten their headbands with smirks on their faces. Sakura pulls her gloves on and Sasuke readies a kunai.

"What are we waiting for!" Naruto charges in throwing kunai, which were immediately deflected by Kakashi. Naruto ends up jumping into the air to have kunai coming at him. He makes a shadow clone to pull himself out of the way and lands on the ground with shadow clone transforming into a demon wind shuriken. Einjeru's eyes widened as Kakashi got behind Naruto, one hand holding Narutos hands which were holding the demon wind shuriken, and the other hand holding a kunai to the back of Naruto's neck.

Kakashi smiles thinking "His strategical mindset has improved and his transformations too." He then says "Did you inherit some impatience while you were gone? I thought Einjeru was impatient." Her face immediately got red and she was about to kick him when he said "Scatter!" Kakashi disappeared and Naruto said "Where did he go?!"

Einjeru snarled saying "Damn it… A shadow clone…" She sniffs the ground to see if she could pinpoint where the real Kakashi was. Sasuke says "How's the sense of smell working?" Einjeru eventually said "I'm not picking u-u-a-ah-choo! Oh man…" Naruto walks up and says "Cold?" He got a nose wipe in return. Sakura then says "If it's a cold, I could try and relieve the pressure in your nose so you don't sneeze so much."

Einjeru smiled and said in a nasally voice, "It's very much appreciated. I never got a chance to ask, but how was training under Lady Tsunade?" Sakura immediately put her hand over Einjeru's nose and a green healing chakra manifested. Upon feeling the pressure relieved, Einjeru took a deep whiff. "Mm mm… Cherry blossoms." Sakura chuckled and removed her hand.

Naruto comes up close saying "Now what?! Kakashi sensei is nowhere to be found!" Einjeru put her hand up like Kakashi would when he signals them to be quiet on missions. She took another whiff and caught his scent coming from the trees. "Sasuke, can you check to make sure it's not a genjutsu?" She got a "Hn," while he triggered his sharingan.

Kakashi from the trees thought "Einjeru isn't putting all of the eggs into the basket of her sense of smell. She's using Sasuke's sense of sight to back it up. They have gotten the bells from me before. It's time to up the ante." He starts to use the Demonic Illusion genjutsu on Einjeru wondering what her worst fear was. "I know she had some pretty bad ones, but what's her worst?"

A flash of leaves rushed around Einjeru. Upon the leaves disappearing, she noticed everyone gone. "Where'd everyone go?" Naruto and Sakura look at her funny and Sasuke said "She's under a genjutsu." Naruto then says "Why can't we break her out of it?" Sasuke then says "She's perfectly capable of breaking it herself, but she has to realize it first."

Einjeru starts walking around and sees her worst nightmares flash before her eyes. "No… This isn't real." She puts her hands together in a seal to break the genjutsu. She forced a large amount of chakra out to break Kakashi's hold. Upon breaking it, she noticed that she broke out in a cold sweat. Kakashi from his hiding place nods saying "So that nightmare is her worst fear. The nightmare that had her restless and ragged. Yikes."

Naruto came up to her and says "You know where sensei is?" Einjeru whispered in his ear and told him to pass it to Sakura and Sasuke. "That's evil, even for you Einjeru." "That wolf of a father is going to get a massive amount of fangs for making me live out that nightmare!" She leaked out a volatile amount of killing intent. Sakumo who was watching with Tsunade thought "This is her real killing intent. Kakashi really screwed up using that genjutsu."

Being as sneaky as she was, she had a vial of Kakashi's blood hidden in case she needed it. She now needed to wait for the smell of blood to fill the air. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were deep in the forest and surrounding the area where he was. Naruto defying the plan due his impatience, charged in with a kunai in hand. Sasuke sighs and goes in after.

Sakura remains hidden and Kakashi chuckles saying "Shinobi battle skills rule number one: taijutsu." Einjeru hears that, plus the hits landing and said to herself "Oh dear… Dad must be really serious about this one. He was like this when I was still in the academy." She dashes towards the forest knowing that her plan would have to wait. Sasuke, sharingan ablaze, was blocking like no one's business.

Einjeru gets near Sakura and says "Why aren't you helping?" Sakura says "I guess the plan is off?" Einjeru nods and says "Dad is going at us hard. I'll have to hold off on my little revenge plan for now." As soon as that was said, Naruto came flying into the trees. "Sakura…Einjeru… We could use a little help." Sasuke was holding off for the most part. "Ready to join the fight Sakura?" A silent plan was made to help and relieve Sasuke.

Kakashi pushes Sasuke backwards and Sakura comes down from above with a chakra-infused fist. Sasuke gets out of dodge leaving Kakashi to think "If that even touches me I'm done." He jumps up just before she makes contact with him. She punches right through a tree. All the guys look at her with the comical anime white eyes of fear. Einjeru smirks and says "Nice Lady Tsunade, you made a junior you. Now it's time for me to continue the plan."

Einjeru body-flickers near Kakashi, ready to use the wolf style. Kakashi landed in the open thinking "Now where's Einjeru? She's been hiding too long. This isn't like her." Upon completing that thought, Einjeru appeared on cue. She says in a cheeky tone "Did you miss me?" "Not by a longshot pup. Also, you have a long way to go if you're going to get me off guard." All of sudden, poof. A shadow clone pops and out comes Einjeru with one of her hands transformed.

Kakashi's visible eye widened in surprise. Einjeru's extended hand managed to graze his mask before he kicked her, putting some distance between them. Her feet grinded against the dirt before she came to a stop holding a scrap of his mask. Both of them smirked at each other before Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke came out. Looking at the four of them, Kakashi then said with confidence while revealing his sharingan, "Shinobi Battle Skills Rule number 2: Ninjutsu."

From the sidelines; Jiriaya, Sakumo, Shizune and Tsunade watched in amazement when Einjeru got a piece of his mask. Jiriaya says to Sakumo "Shirobuki? What did you do to her? She's able to graze Kakashi now." "Sorry master Jiriaya. Clan secrets. Can't reveal them." Shizune then says "Well 2 years seems like a lot more if Einjeru can keep up with Kakashi as much as she is." Jiriaya and Sakumo replied, "You have to remember Shizune, both Naruto and Einjeru have the ability to use shadow clones to their fullest extent. So in their case, 2 years is actually a lot more with shadow clones."

Sakura, Sasuke, Einjeru and Naruto face Kakashi intently and Einjeru notices a little scratch on Kakashi's face. She smells blood and smirks. She pulls out a scroll and the vial of blood saying "Keep him busy." Naruto uses the Gale Palm to put some distance between them and Kakashi. Sasuke then comes up with an idea and says "Naruto! On my signal, use the Gale Palm again." He started to flash through the signs for the fireball jutsu. "Fireball jutsu! Now Naruto!" As soon as the Gale Palm came into contact with the fireball jutsu, the field became a raging inferno. Kakashi had flashed into the trees, with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke chasing after.

Einjeru at this point smeared the blood on the scroll and was waving it around like a ribbon dancer. "Dad, meet the rest of _my_ ninken pack." She wrapped up the scroll and started weaving the signs for the Earth Style: Summoning: Fanged Pursuit jutsu. When finished she slammed the scroll on the ground and let the markings from the scroll flow into it.

With Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, they were managing to keep Kakashi at bay. "What's keeping Einjeru? She's had more than enough time to prepare!" Naruto said before a rumble was heard underground. 8 ninja hounds including Shibura and Raito popped out from the ground, restraining Kakashi. Einjeru walked up with a smug look on her face saying "Did you miss me again?" All eyes were on Einjeru at this point.

Naruto looks between Kakashi and Einjeru saying "I know I saw this jutsu before." Sasuke then says "Kakashi used this technique during our first mission outside the village. However, the dogs are different this time." Sakura looks and says "Shibura is among them." Einjeru nods and looks at Kakashi expecting him to say something.

"I see you've learned this jutsu, but how did you learn to manipulate earth style?" Einjeru chuckled and said "Silly dad, did you forget about my ANBU guardian?" Said ANBU was in the trees watching as Einjeru continued saying "Since I've rendered you unable to move we could just take the bells, but that would be too easy. Oh no, I have plans that involve Master Jiriaya's latest book." She disburses her ninken and calls Naruto over to her.

Kakashi slumps over and says "Fair enough, but you have very little time left." They all look at the position of the moon in the sky. "Shit! Going to have to pull this off rather quickly." Naruto starts screaming out all of a sudden. He then curled up in a ball like he was being kicked. Einjeru thought "Naruto's worst fear was getting caught by the villagers and beaten… Doesn't dad know any other genjutsu?" She puts up a one-handed seal and says "Release!" Tapping Naruto on the shoulder and pushing the chakra into him.

He relaxed and looked at Einjeru saying "I fell prey to Kakashi sensei's jutsu didn't I?" The whole time that Einjeru was scheming and tending to Naruto; Sakura and Sasuke were going at Kakashi hard. Kakashi used the water dragon jutsu to have it deflected by Sakura using a water wall. Sasuke then used the fireball jutsu to create steam and mask their presence.

Naruto and Einjeru finalized their plan of using the latest installment of the Make-out series to force Kakashi into submission. Einjeru thought back to the returning journey to the village.

 _Flashback:_

Naruto and Einjeru were walking ahead of their three guarding companions, talking about what happened since they last saw each other. All of a sudden, Einjeru finds herself walking into a red haori and finding a giant, meaty hand on her head. She looks up and sees Jiriaya. "Is there something you wish to say, Master Jiriaya?"

Jiriaya in his boisterous manner starts off saying "I am aware you hid your fathers' books, but since he read through all of them already and has been awaiting a new book; I thought I'd just rub it in your face that I just finished the latest Make-out book: Make-out Tactics!" Einjeru immediately sighs and takes the book, putting it in her weapons pouch.

Jiriaya was surprised by the behavior. "I thought you'd throw it away." Einjeru shrugs and says "I think it was dad's way of coping. When I came into his life, his mind was a mess… Part of it you already know master Jiriaya." He looks at her. "So you do know about that?" A nod was noticed by Jiriaya, and Einjeru was giving subtle hints without saying everything. "I saw his old squad photo. He would tell me that he was a worse prick than Neji Hyuuga. He also said that it was a reminder of his past mistakes, and that he would never forget them as long as he lived."

Jiriaya chuckles and says "His sensei left a long lasting legacy with Kakashi. Also his birthday is coming up. What are you going to do?" Einjeru pulls out a mini calendar and notices that it was the day before Kakashi's birthday. "I think he'll just be happy that I'm back home in the leaf. What'll be even better? Kicking his butt and giving him this book."

 _Presently:_

They went over immediately as they heard an explosion coming from that direction. Once they got over there, Kakashi chuckles saying "Shinobi Battle Skills rule number three: Genjutsu." Einjeru rolls her eyes and pulls out a green book. Kakashi notices the title and the call-card symbol of the 'do not do x, y, z' "I don't believe this. This is the weakest mind trick I ever seen Einjeru. Don't tell me I need to put you back with Ibiki. Release!" Unfortunately for him, the book didn't disappear.

Einjeru and Naruto smirked. "So dad… Master Jiriaya gave me this book to tantalize you with. In your face!" Naruto grins evilly. "Check this out Kakashi sensei! I was the one proof-reading the manuscripts, so I know every juicy detail. It turns out…" A certain silver haired jonin started to flip. "No! Spoilers!" He covers his ears and still ends up reading Naruto's lips. "No! With the sharingan, I can read his lips!" He then clinched his eyes shut and curled up in a ball.

Sakura and Sasuke swooped in grabbing the bells with a questioning look on their face. Naruto chuckles while Einjeru slipped the book into his pouch whispering into his ear, "We didn't read it. Happy birthday dad." Naruto at the same time said to Sasuke and Sakura, "I never got past page one. I have no clue what it says!" They all started laughing at Kakashi's expense.

Eventually, said silver-haired ninja got up and walked over to them and says "You guys got the bells using a cheap shot, but you guys have proven to be able to work together after all this time. Your jutsu arsenals have improved and so has your planning skills. Congratulations." Einjeru chuckles and says "Don't reveal such an obvious vulnerability then. It feels good to be back home."

Tsunade, Shizune, Jiriaya and Sakumo come out from their vantage point. Sakumo smiles thinking "Anjera, she's grown. She can hold her own against Kakashi." Jiriaya looks at Naruto and Einjeru thinking "What a couple of evil brats for doing that. As a shinobi you have to be prepared though." Tsunade gave a smile saying "This little test just showed me that you guys can be a squad again. The chunin exams take place in the leaf in six months. I'll be sending you guys on missions to prepare you, but for now welcome home Naruto and Einjeru."

All of them looked at each other and Kakashi says to them "The days of sensei and student will be coming to an end soon. We will soon be looking at each other as equals." Naruto smiles saying "Who's up for some Ichiraku ramen!" Einjeru said "As much as I love that ramen… I haven't eaten any kind of meat in 2 years. I want BBQ." Sakura and Sasuke look at her scrupulously. Kakashi looks at Sakumo thinking "What has she been eating?"

Sakumo gestures for Kakashi to follow him and they went to a wooded area. "Kakashi, we were expanding her palate a little. Anjera didn't really eat meat and was trying to get Einjeru to look into other sources of food. I did sneak her in some, but it was only a teaser to what she wanted. We all know that her inner wolf dominates her appetite." Kakashi shakes his head saying "Well the BBQ restaurant is going to be shut down for a few days. When she wants it, she eats more meat than Choji." Both of them gave a sad laugh. "As much as I'd love to see her eat that much, I told Anjera that I'd be back after Einjeru's test."

Kakashi nods and the two of them walk back over to the four teenagers who were still debating, but it started turning into a fight. Naruto keeps saying "I want ramen…" Einjeru snarls saying "I want meat damn it!" Sakura says "BBQ is healthier when you think about it." Sasuke says "You have ramen on the brain, I'm surprised you grew as much as you did." Naruto then said "What? I didn't hear you."

Two of them had their collars yanked on by Kakashi saying "You two are as feisty as usual. You two are coming with me to see Shirobuki off." Einjeru didn't argue, but her stomach growled. "I'm hungry…" Naruto's stomach went off again. "Ramen… I want… Ramen…" Sakumo smiles and says "You'll eat soon you two, but I need to go home. You guys are my favorite people." Einjeru sighs saying "Alright Shirobuki, but promise me that you and Kuroko are coming to the chunin exams."

Sakumo smiled and said "We wouldn't miss it. Just make it to the third test so we have something to brag about." They all started heading near the main gate to see him off. Before leaving, he handed Einjeru a scroll and said "Open it." Upon doing that, she noticed a blood seal. She nicked her thumb and let a few drops of blood drop on it. A sword appeared and Sakumo said "No one else noticed the difference with the sword, but I'm pretty sure you did Einjeru."

Einjeru looked at him saying "The chakra wasn't blazing a trail." Sakumo chuckled and said "Yeah, I broke the blade when you were sleeping a few days ago to make a better sword. Take a look at the handle." She looks at the intricate black and silver designs and looked at the tail of it. The braiding of the tail led to a silver colored fang. Upon looking at it closely, she noticed that it was the first fang that she lost. "Shirobuki… How did you?"

Kakashi chuckled and said "I'm curious about that." Sakumo said "I wanted something to signify that it was yours. I did call you little Silver Fang after all. What better way to say it than a silver fang? I know people that can cast whatever you want in anything." Einjeru smiled saying "Thanks. I won't let anything happen to it." "The sword has more added properties that you'll discover in time. Now give me a hug." Sakumo got a big squeeze and he whispered in her ear. "Never give up my little Silver Fang." He grabs the necklace from her neck and replaces it with a new one. "I used the second fang you lost for this necklace. Like before, your necklace and the sword react with each other." He got a nod in return before she let go and whispered. "I'm going to miss you, grandpa."

Sakumo starts walking away and Kakashi says to Einjeru "What are you going to do with the old sword?" She hands it to him saying "It was originally yours, so I guess I give it back to you." Her stomach growled again and she said "I believe we told Sakura and Sasuke to meet us at the BBQ restaurant." They head over there to see the two in question outside.

They all go in to hear a massive "SURPRISE! Welcome home you two!" Shikamaru and Choji were in the front saying "I heard the rumors that you two had grown, but seeing it for myself, it's hard to believe." Einjeru then says to Choji "I challenge you to an eating contest Akimichi!" Choji chuckles saying "You're on Einjeru!" Everyone looked at those two and the staff said "Time for the contest platters."

They sit down in front of the grills and the staff said "For the rules; no eating off each other's platters, you have to signal with two fingers if you can't continue with the platter, and if you both finish; it's whoever finished first without throwing up that wins. Ready? Start!" Einjeru grabbed the first type of meat and filled the grill to the edge. Choji grabbed different types of meat to fill the grill.

Naruto and Sakura were cheering loud saying "Win us that free food Einjeru!" Sasuke shakes his head thinking "She's highly competitive and hungry. There's no doubt that this will be close." Ino decided that she'd try to outclass Sakura by shouting louder. "Come on Choji! Show this brat how eating BBQ is done!" Shikamaru groans internally. "What a drag… I can't decide who to root for. These guys are both friends."

Einjeru turned her meat and said "How are you doing Choji?" Choji was stuffing meat in his mouth and piling more onto the grill. "I'm doing great! You should hurry up though." "Uh Choji… You're going to make yourself sick like this." She picks up her meat and eats it. "Mmmm…" She set the next type of meat on the grill and burps loudly. Everyone looked at her in a surprised fashion. "Excuse me…"

An hour and 30 minutes have passed since the first pieces of meat had been eaten, and both of them have a little bit of meat left on their platters. Einjeru has some ribs left and Choji has an assortment of chicken, beef and pork. She placed her last pieces on the grill and patiently waited. All the shouting had died down due to the three who were losing their voices. The BBQ staff noticed this and said "You guys are the only two that have made it to the near end point in this. Already Einjeru has put the final pieces of her platter on the grill, and shows no signs of throwing up. Choji is not that far behind, but his recklessness and halfway cooking the meat is catching up with him."

Choji starts looking a little green and Einjeru looks at him, concerned. "Choji… Did you undercook your chicken?" Choji nods and continues cooking the food. Einjeru polishes off her food and smiles sadly. "Choji, you're giving yourself food poisoning… You need to stop." Choji finishes and says "Great contest Einjeru!" Einjeru smiles in a satisfied fashion. "It was. Thanks for entertaining the friendly competition." Choji nods and says to Ino and Shikamaru, "Don't we have a mission tomorrow?" He got a nod in return and they headed home.

Sakura says "Lady Tsunade wants to see us first thing tomorrow. Shall we meet at training ground seven like always?" Einjeru nods and says "Expect me to be late. I need to drop some flowers at the memorial stone, plus I'm going to fight with my dad to get him there." Naruto says "Why don't we meet up at the memorial stone then." Sasuke nods.

Einjeru says "Sounds like a plan. I'll see you guys at the memorial stone tomorrow at 7:30." They all part ways and head to their respective homes to rest after a long time. Einjeru upon getting into her bedroom fell onto her bed without changing her clothes. A faint snore can be heard coming from her room. Kakashi was walking around in a pair of baggy pants and a form-fitting shirt and heard the snores. "Well… This is the fastest I've seen her fall asleep. She must have eaten a lot. Well I better get some rest."

He heads off to bed and lays there thinking of Obito, Rin and Minato. "Minato sensei… Naruto has grown so much and so has Einjeru. I wonder how you would feel about her. I could only imagine Kushina sensei doting over her. I wonder what Obito would think of his goddaughter." Naruto in his apartment sneezes as well as Minato in the reapers belly. Kushina wherever her spirit lies, giggles saying "Someone is thinking about me. I wonder who." In a dark cave, Obito gets a strange feeling and lays down on the lone bed with the aptly called swirly and white zetsu watching him.

Sasuke gets into his apartment and takes a shower. Orochimaru's voice rings in his head saying "You'll come seek me out Sasuke." Sasuke shakes his head. "I need to talk to Lady Tsunade. This hasn't gone away since the chunin exams 2 years ago. The only one who was promoted was Einjeru and even now that promotion is considered special chunin." He goes to lay down and the curse mark pulses. His body convulses in pain.

Sakura comes in to her parents saying "You're late again Sakura. It's also your turn to do the laundry." She shakes her head saying "I know, but I have to meet up with Team Kakashi first thing tomorrow. Our test took longer than expected and we decided to celebrate Naruto and Einjeru's homecoming with a little BBQ." Her father chuckles saying "Nothing says welcome home like a good meal. Well it's good that you are able to enjoy some time with your team. You should rest, I'll take care of it." Sakura smiles and says "Thanks, but leave it for tomorrow. I'll take care of it then."

Naruto lays down in bed after clearing the dust out of his apartment and having a cup of instant ramen. "It's not like Ichiraku, but it's still ramen." He looks at the squad picture again and thinks about Sasuke. "I hope he's doing okay… This crack makes me feel uneasy."

The moon shines in all of the windows of the hidden leaf. Its' beautiful glow highlighting the next generation, as if someone above is watching over them, preparing them to take their places in the future. However, it doesn't seem like they're going to be ready in 24 hours. In the hidden sand however, a treacherous action begins to take place, and the kazekage is going to have to rely on the hidden leaf to help.


	15. Chapter 15

Treacherous Dealings/A New Mission Part 1

The next morning, Einjeru woke to find she never took care of herself before going to sleep. "Is it morning already?" She looks at the clock to see it's 6:30. Groaning, she got out of bed and took a quick shower, putting on fresh clothes. By the time she went to make breakfast it was 6:45. "Dad! We need to meet up with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke early!" She prepares a cup of coffee for her chronically late father, along with a sunny-side up egg, a couple slices of bacon and a piece of toast. She had the same thing except substituting the coffee for tea.

It then became 7:00 and she went to check his room. "Dad?" She sees a mop of silver hair peering out of the blankets. "Alright dad. Your breakfast is getting cold and I am not going to be late on account of your actions! Get your butt out of this bed." She gets a groan in reply. "Come on Einjeru… Let me sleep. Did you forget what today is?" She shakes her head. "I know today is your birthday, but I went through the trouble of making you breakfast and your other adorable students would like to see you."

Kakashi turns around and looks at her in a tired manner. "My coffee better be the way I like it. No sugar or cream right?" Einjeru smiles and says "Everything is as you ask it to be dad, now up." He lazily gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom. He takes a whiff of the air and says "Breakfast smells as good as it always is. I kind of missed this for the two years you were out."

At the same time, Naruto was getting out of bed and looking at the time. "Oh crap! It's 7:15 and we're supposed to be meeting at the memorial stone in 15 minutes." He rushed around his apartment, making toast and grabbing his clothes to freshen up with. He ended up slipping on his sheet though. "Ow… That hurt…"

Sakura was at the Yamanaka flower shop looking at bouquets to leave at the memorial stone as a token of respect. Ino says to Sakura "So what are you looking for Sakura? Anything special?" Sakura turns her head. "Ino. I was just looking into some flowers to leave at the memorial stone. Einjeru said she tends to do that in honor of her mother."

Ino walks up to her saying "Einjeru loves getting a Rose bouquet with sprigs of Lavender thrown in, sometimes a little Wolfs-bane. By the way, it's Kakashi sensei's birthday today. Does your team have any plans post-mission?" Sakura shrugs saying "Einjeru knows Kakashi sensei the best. If she didn't say anything then the rest of us wouldn't know." Sakura looks at the time and says "Oh! It's almost time to meet. Can you give me a bouquet of white roses?" Ino prepares it along with Einjeru's normal requests, expecting her to come in soon. "Here you go Sakura. Say hi to Sasuke for me." Sakura nods. "Will do Ino."

In Sakura's mind, her inner voice rung out saying "I'm no longer vying for his attention. From now on, I'll let him come to me."

Sasuke was already at the memorial stone, looking at the lone Uchiha that was marked. "Obito… Whoever you are, I wish I could have met you." Sakura comes up and sees Sasuke. She comes next to him and says "How long have you been here?" Sasuke shrugs saying "A few minutes, give or take. What are the flowers for?" Sakura gives a small smile. "It's to honor those who have fallen. I got the idea when Ino told me about Einjeru's habits after the chunin exam invasion."

Naruto comes up and says "Hey guys. How long have you been here?!" Sakura and Sasuke look at him thinking "Could he be any louder?" Sakura then says "Not long. Have you seen Einjeru or Kakashi sensei?" Naruto shrugged. "I heard Einjeru was going to make a stop to the flower shop before coming here." He gets a nod in acknowledgement. Kakashi and Einjeru appear with bouquets of flowers in their hands.

"Sorry it took so long guys." They look at them and say "You guys are on time. It's odd for Kakashi sensei." Kakashi gives a lazy eye-roll and says "Well since we're here together, we might as well go to the hokage tower together." They all walk towards the hokage tower to receive their first mission as a squad after so long.

By this point, Lord Kazekage was ordering the attack of a black and red cloud colored cloak wearing blonde on an odd looking bird. In the birds' mouth laid Gaara, the kazekage's son and jinchuuriki to the one-tail shukaku. The blonde gives a grunt saying "This villages concept of art is dull compared to mine. Art… Is an explosion!"

Explosions rung around the hidden sand shinobi, and the bird flew off. Kankuro looks at the kazekage as not the kazekage, but his father and says "What do we do? We can't just let them have Gaara." The kazekage says "Send a message to the leaf on Takamaru. He's our fastest messenger. Level 1 emergency dispatch." One of the messenger people did so immediately and Takamaru was out of the village in less than 15 minutes.

A couple hours later, Team Kakashi was near the tower after a leisurely walk and catch up. Kakashi looks up to see a bird flying to the message delivery room. "That bird…" They start making their way in the tower and to the office when a person from the cypher division rushes by them. They continue their trek to the hokage office as if they didn't see her running by them. In her office, Tsunade looks at Team Kakashi with a disreputable eye. A voice in her head rings off as she looks at them, saying "Late, hot-heads, vengeful, and a medical nin. These guys… Will they make it?"

Before Tsunade could even get the words of their mission out of her mouth, the cypher lady ran in saying "Pardon the intrusion milady, but we have a level 1 emergency dispatch from the sand village." Tsunade turned to Team Kakashi and says "I was originally going to give you a C-Rank, but this emergency dispatch is more important. Team Kakashi. You are to report to the Hidden Sand village and assist them with whatever they need. You guys are to leave immediately."

They immediately left the tower and grabbed their supplies. They met at the main gate and took off in a mad dash for the sand village. Einjeru was right behind Kakashi wondering if he had a feeling. "Dad? Did you have a feeling that something like this was going to happen?" She got a sigh in return with Kakashi saying, "I had _a_ feeling when I saw that bird flying above and someone from the cypher division ran past us."

Einjeru remained quiet after that, leaving Sakura to say "I'm pretty sure it isn't all bad. Maybe it was an accident that they needed extra hands with." Einjeru says "Well that is hopeful optimism, but a level 1 emergency dispatch is more serious than that. We'll find out within three days." Naruto was too quiet and Sasuke gave his usual demeanor.

" **Brat! The shukaku is in trouble. He's going to be taken out. You guys are going to have to pick up the pace, or something bad is going to happen.** " Naruto says "But how Kurama?" Kurama shakes his head and tries to sleep. Naruto comes out of his head. He put more chakra into his step and got past Einjeru. Her eyes widened by a large fraction. "Is something wrong Naruto?" He doesn't say a word. "Naruto? Answer me." Still nothing.

Einjeru snarls a little. Kurama's voice pops into her head. " **Something you need princess?** "

"First of all, don't call me that. Second of all, what the hell did you say to Naruto?!"

" **Whoa, calm down. I only told him that Shukaku was getting extracted. I didn't expect this reaction. I just said that if we didn't pick up the pace it would be too late.** " She groans mentally. "Looks like we'll have to pick up the pace don't we?" More chakra was placed into her step.

They start coming up to a tea shop to see Temari outside. They stop in front of her. She says to them "This is the direction of the Hidden Sand. Why are you guys heading this way?" Kakashi says "The hidden leaf received a level 1 emergency dispatch from the kazekage. We're the team that's being sent." Her train of thought immediately went to Gaara. She also thought, "Well that explains that crack when I was enjoying my tea."

Einjeru looks at Temari, her mind in a dark place at the moment as she thought back to the first chunin exams. Her mind kept saying "She's the teammate of the crazed maniac that wanted to kill everything in sight… I know our nations are supposed to be allies, but… I don't know if I can _trust_ them. I thought I was dead that night…" Her eyes were a dark shade of purple and Naruto shook her out of her thoughts, a saddened look on his face.

Kakashi looked at Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and Einjeru thinking "Naruto is uncharacteristically quiet, Einjeru was lost in thought as though a dark memory creeped up on her on account of seeing this girl, Sakura is calm, and Sasuke hasn't said anything regarding Itachi. What is going on with these guys?" Temari then said as if she had somehow read his thoughts, "I think it's me… I remember them from the chunin exams 2 years ago."

Einjeru however, blinked her eyes and shook her head to reinforce Naruto's shaking. "I apologize; I was lost in thought." Her eyes faded to black as she looked to Kakashi. "Sensei? Shall we move?" Everyone looked at her and she replied to their incredulous looks "We have a level 1 emergency dispatch to answer. It would be best if didn't sit here twiddling our thumbs." Kakashi nods saying "You're right. We need to move." They continue to the Hidden Sand.

At the same time, the cloak-wearing shinobi weren't wasting any time going to their hideout. "Sasori, my man. Tell me something. How did you come from a village with a horrible art sense?" The hunchback-looking, black and red cloud cloak wearing shinobi, aptly known as Sasori replied "Art is eternal beauty. Deidara, your explosives are a nuisance. Puppets are an art-form that last forever. _That_ is true art."

Night falls and team Kakashi plus Temari set up camp. Einjeru decides to take the first watch and sends out 8 clones to watch out for every direction while she sat with the rest of them. She thinks to herself "Naruto has been acting weird since the other day. Does it have to do with what Kurama said?" Her mind drifted out of the conscious realm into her mindscape.

Her inner self looks at her saying "You know, Kurama wouldn't lie about this." Einjeru looks at her restrained inner counterpart nodding. "I know, but it still takes three days to make it to the sand, plus time to make it to their hideout. I don't know if we can make it." Einjeru opens the mental cage and comes in, a determined look on her face. "I know we haven't seen eye to eye, but…"

"Before you say it, your body can't handle the full powers that your mark has inhibited. Unlocking them right now would kill us both. The time will come when the power can be undone. Just be patient." Her inner self wondered if she should tell Einjeru the truth about the way the powers are to be unlocked.

"What do I do? I have yet to choose someone to take the test of faith… Mom said I had to choose someone soon… By my birthday no doubt. It's just shy of two months off."

"So this is what this is about, eh? Let's see… There's Naruto: your soon-to-be mate completely, Sakura: the girl that you had just started warming up to before you left for training, Sasuke: the boy that is bent on vengeance, and Itachi: the older brother figure that Sasuke is bent on vengeance for. It's all in what you consider trustworthy." Einjeru then thinks to herself "There's also Shikamaru and Choji, but they only know so much… I don't want to involve them or Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke unless it's a last resort."

Einjeru looks at her inner self saying "I need to talk to Itachi. The probability that I will encounter him on this mission is high." She got a nod in return. "Now you need to wake up. Your guard shift is almost over." She opened her eyes to see Naruto, still bothered. She looks at Sakura to see that she was looking worried, and in turn her eyes went to Sasuke.

Sasuke was unconscious and sweating profusely. Einjeru's mouth was dry from hours of meditation and it was noticeable when she spoke. "Is… Sasuke… Okay?" Sakura came over with some water and guided the canteen to her mouth. "An odd chakra started to flow through his chakra coils as you were guarding and meditating. He was setting up the tents."

Einjeru nods and says "I'm going to disperse the clones and go for a walk." As soon as she was out of sight, she started to run to the clones' locations. "I can't believe one of them saw Itachi. Luckily he ignored the clone, or I'd be in trouble." She got to the first clone and asked about anything suspicious. The clone pointed behind Einjeru. "Besides that crow, nothing out of the ordinary."

The clone disperses and Einjeru looks at the crow saying "Itachi was watching the whole time." She threw a kunai at the crow to see it disperse. "A summoning?" Her instincts told her to look left, right, forward and behind. Just before she looked behind her, a flock of crows appeared and in the flock was Itachi. "It's been a while Einjeru."

She put on a farce and said "What do you want Uchiha?" He looks at her surprised. "Your mask is well prepared for having it developed in less than thirty seconds. What are you doing here?" Einjeru gave a huff and puffed out her chest in an attitude. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Itachi got slightly disgruntled, but didn't show it. "Alright princess, what has you like this?" If there was a way to get under her skin; it was calling her princess. Her farce came off her face, and all that was there was pure rage as she tackled him. "I hate being called that!" Itachi sighs and says "Fine, Einjeru. Now that I see your true colors; what are you doing?"

Einjeru shakes her head. "I couldn't tell you that even if I wanted to." Itachi sighs and says "No doubt that Kakashi taught you the ANBU guarding protocols. Are you on mission?" Einjeru remained quiet and averted her gaze from his eyes. He notices this and pushes her off. "I see. Is there something I should know?" Einjeru shakes her head thinking "I can't say yet… I haven't decided, or more like I can't decide."

Itachi says "Are you thinking about that encounter 2 years ago?" Einjeru shakes her head and puts her mask back on. "Don't ask questions you don't want answers to."

"This is cryptic, even for you Einjeru." Itachi looks at her curiously. "If you want answers, ask my mom and grandpa. I won't tell you anymore."

A wolf that was watching the encounter thinking "Why is she telling him this? Does he know the secret?" Anjera happened to cross that line of thought and flashed over to the location. "What's going on?" She looks down there to see Einjeru and Itachi talking. "So… She has been thinking about this hard, is she choosing Itachi?"

Itachi says "I'd hurry to the Sand if I were you. I knew word had spread regarding the one-tail." Her body tensed up and she looked at him with a look so fierce it could kill. He started to walk away and Einjeru grabbed his wrist so tight that she could've broken it if she wanted. "Itachi. Tell me what you know about what happens to the jinchuuriki when their tailed beast is extracted."

Itachi noticed a small amount of killing intent filling the air. "This is about Naruto, isn't it?" Silence. He got really hesitant about saying the next sentence coming out of his mouth. "When the tailed beast is extracted, the jinchuuriki dies." She lets go of his hand and immediately disperses her other clones. "I won't say that I saw you, but you better not be at that hideout." She disappears in a swirl of leaves and reappears in the camp.

Kakashi sent Naruto out for guard duty after asking what kept Einjeru. She says in a cheery voice and with a smile not unlike Kakashi's eye smile, "I just fell on the way back. Everything's fine." Kakashi's face looked grim, as though he's seeing right through Einjeru's façade. He gives a smile in return and Einjeru went into her tent and exhaled sharply.

Anjera appeared behind Einjeru and said "What's wrong?" Einjeru almost flipped when she heard the voice of her mother. "I don't think team Kakashi should have been sent on this mission. Naruto could be killed." Anjera laughs at this declaration. "So, you, the princess of demons is scared of a bunch of ninja who don't know Ao from Ko?" Einjeru huffs at this question, her mind was partially there, but not. "I've been thinking really hard about this test of faith. I think this is why I'm scared. Itachi also told me something that scared me." Anjera looked at her.

"It's about the tailed beasts isn't it? While they are tied to us, there's more to it. Have you heard of the Sage of six-paths?" Einjeru shook her head. Anjera looks at her and gives a small smile.

"Well here's a bedtime story for you. Before there were people who were born with chakra, there were ordinary people who were very superstitious. One beautiful, starry night; a star fell from the sky and where the star crashed, emerged a beautiful woman. The man who found her was the leader of a nearby village. He took her in and showered her with gifts of affection."

"Did he fall in love with her on sight mom? I don't really care for stories like this, if that's the case."

"No he didn't, at first. He saw her as a goddess and felt he had to pay tribute. As the seasons went on, he felt a strange feeling coming on and wanted to pursue that kind of relationship. During the time he was courting her, another village decided to attack due to water rights. The attacking village decided to kidnap the woman."

"Oh great, a damsel in distress. Why bother to tell this story… It's going to have a happy ending isn't it?"

"Well, technically this story is nowhere near ending. The ending hasn't been written. This is the story of shinobi. Now where was I? Oh; in self-defense, the woman killed her kidnappers. However, because of a treaty, the man had to kill the woman, so she went to the tree that she crash-landed near and eat this forbidden fruit to survive."

"Why was it forbidden? Did it have lethal properties?"

"I'm not sure, but when she ate the fruit, she had powers beyond compare. The thing was, she was pregnant with the mans' children. A set of twins, both boys."

"Was one of them the sage? If it is, then this just got interesting."

"Well, it's said that the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans are descendants of the woman's bloodline as well distant ones such as the Senju and Uzumaki clans. The sage had the rinnegan however. His brother got their mothers byakugan."

"Then how are the Uchiha, Senju and Uzumaki descendants of the sage? How do you know this?"

"Well, the twins grew up and overthrew their mother. She had become somewhat of a tyrant. The woman utilized the power of this horrid beast against the sage and his brother. In the end, the brothers sealed away their mother. The sage separated the beast into 9 individual parts. We know them as the tailed beasts."

"What happened to the monster? Also, you never told me where you heard this from."

"I'm not sure what happened after it was split, but what I'm telling you is a legend passed down from generation to generation in the demon kingdom, so if it's all true or not I couldn't tell you. I think that I heard that the husk of the monster became the moon, and that the brother took the responsibility of staying with it."

"Then what did the sage do with the tailed beasts then?"

"The sage dispersed the tailed beasts to different regions, the hidden villages didn't exist yet, so I guess they lived peaceful lives. The sage eventually found himself a lover and had two kids. During which time he wanted to spread peace, so he created ninshu: the shinobi creed, not to be confused with what we know as ninjutsu. His eldest son started turning it into something unlike what it was created for."

"What about the clans? You never explained how the Uchiha fit into all this."

"I'm about to. The eldest son was gifted with a special set of eyes. We know them as the sharingan. While the younger son didn't have such gifts, he had a big heart and was thick-headed and had an abundance of chakra. Does that answer your question?"

"Well that explains the Uchiha and Uzumaki. What about the Senju?

"The boys got old enough and the sage had to choose a successor. He chose the younger one because of his ability to spread love. The elder one didn't like it and started to take down the system that sage built. During the first battle between them, the younger one awakened a special bloodline known as the wood style. The battles waged on and the hidden villages started to form. The villages continue to stand strong to this day, forming legends such as in the hidden leaf with the sannin, lord third and your dad.

"Thanks mom… It doesn't help with this situation, but it helped me to calm down a little. I'm still scared for Naruto."

Anjera took Einjeru's headband off and tucked her hair back behind her ear. "I know, but as a shinobi you must confront this. You're not the only one who has a nightmare about those they care for. I fear for you every day because of the dangers." Einjeru yawned and her eyes started to droop. Anjera smiles and says "Goodnight my kit." She disappears to let Einjeru sleep.

The next day, the group set out early to the Hidden Sand. Taking food pills and water along the way so they can reduce the amount of time for stopping, the group found their stomachs growling frequently. Although in Einjeru's case, it made her nose hone in on everything. She caught a whiff of poison and old wood. Kakashi noticed the looks of sniffing and gave a sign to stop. Sakura then noticed a trail.

"Kakashi sensei. It looks like a battle took place nearby." They followed the trails to find a black-clad shinobi laying on the ground facedown. Temari's face almost dropped. "Kankuro!" She went up to him and kneeled. Einjeru changed forms and prepared to carry him on her back. "His best bet is to make it back to the village."

Kankuro groaned, pointing at his puppets, or what remained of them. Sasuke grabbed the remains thinking "Whoever battled this guy knew the weaknesses of the puppets." They double-timed to the village and managed to make it to the middle of the desert by nightfall. They went to a nearby cave and waited out the sandstorm that appeared out of nowhere.

Sakura checked Kankuro over to see what kind of poison was used. Her expression was one of shock. "I never encountered this kind of poison before. It specifically targets the muscles of the vital organs. From the looks of it, it's been in his system for over a day." Temari nods in understanding and looks outside the cave in a somber manner. "Unfortunately we can't move until this sandstorm is over."

Sasori and Deidara made it back to their hideout. The leader appeared as a shadowy figure on one of the fingers of the statue. "You two are late." Sasori shakes his head in an annoyed manner. "Deidara had to make it a show, so it took longer than expected." Itachi and Kisame appeared as shadows. Itachi shook his head and said "Well that _show_ attracted the attention of the Hidden Leaf. Reinforcements are on their way."

Deidara chuckles in an amused manner. "Do you know any of the reinforcements Itachi?" Sasori shakes his head and says "We have a tailed beast to trap." The leader then said "Itachi and Kisame. I want you two to deal with the reinforcements. I'll take 20% of your chakra for the diversion."

Einjeru in the meanwhile was sitting at the cave entrance. Sasuke joins her and says "Why are you over here instead of with Kakashi and Naruto? You seem more family oriented than you're displaying." She looks at Sasuke and shakes her head. "It's complicated Sasuke. You could be helping set up instead of asking me about my personal actions."

Sasuke chuckles at the reprimand and looks at her seriously. "It's Temari and Kankuro isn't it?" Einjeru shakes her head. "My problems lie beyond the scope of our mission. It's more personal than anything." He shakes his head in a disapproving manner. "You encountered something during your guard didn't you?" Einjeru snarled and said "Sasuke, did my dad ask you to poke at me and see if I would spill? Because if he did I will say this: Do not ask me about this until we are back home! I'm not in the mood for this!"

Her yell echoed through the cave. Sakura came up and asked Sasuke to help her out with making Kankuro comfortable. Kakashi comes up and says "You didn't have to yell. Your voice is powerful enough as is. I know this much; you are hiding something." Einjeru ignores the statement, putting out this much, "What I encountered in the woods is something I have no intention of revealing at this point in time. We are on a mission dad, and we are pressed for time as is."

Her thoughts went to the story Anjera told her. In her mind, she thought "Even if it is a legend, if all the nine tailed beasts are reunited, it will be the end of shinobi life as we know it. Maybe it's one of the recurring nightmares that I keep having." She looked at Kakashi and said "In the woods, I saw something that could potentially bring ruin upon us. It's complicated to explain, so please don't ask."

Back in the village, Tsunade was busy trying to figure out how to appease the civilian council on approving Naruto to go on such a mission. Shizune said to her "Milady, if I may, do you think that a potential diplomatic mission was one to send Naruto on? His demeanor alone could cause an incident." Tsunade shook her head. "That's why Einjeru is there. Although, something seemed off-putting about her before she left."

Shizune nods. "She isn't one to take missions quietly, is she?" Lord Third comes across them and says "Einjeru may have dissent about the Tora mission, but she isn't one to voice it. I'm pretty sure if something is bothering her, it will come out."

Tsunade smiles softly. "How are you Sarutobi sensei?" Lord third looks at Tsunade, a grim look on his face. "Tsunade, I know you have faith in them, but I got a message from Anjera. You may need to send out a back-up squad for Kakashi's team. Also, I am well."

Tsunade looks at Lord Third saying "Anjera was with them? How?" He hands her the scroll saying "According to this, Einjeru had a run-in with Itachi on her guard patrol. They're going to need back-up if they're going to make it." She reads through the scroll thinking "There's the off-putting feeling I felt coming from her before she left." She then says "You brushed off my question sensei." He was silent for a few.

Team Guy was reporting to the hokage tower to receive a mission after a harsh training session. Shizune was waiting for them. Guy looked at her curiously, wondering why Lady Tsunade's assistant was sitting outside. Shizune looks at team Guy and says "Follow me. Lady Tsunade is busy so she'll assign you a mission when she is able to."

Team Guy did as they were requested; but only after a youth speech from Guy and Lee. Neji and Tenten sweat-dropped at their actions, but did as asked. Shizune started leading them to a room across the hall from Konohamaru and company. Neji says "Something is going on." Lee agrees in a youthful manner saying "What do you think of the situation? It does seem unyouthful."

Tsunade looks at Hiruzen in an annoyed manner. He looks at her and says "Anjera does have the ability to teleport from wherever she is to where Einjeru is. Their chakras bounce off each other. It's the same with Kakashi. When you share similar chakra, it helps. However, I only know what's on the scroll as far as information goes. Do you have a team in mind for backing them up?"

Shizune at this point comes up to them. "Lord Third, Lady Tsunade. Team Guy and Team Ebisu are awaiting instruction." Hiruzen smiled fawnly at Shizune and says "So Konohamaru is being patient. This is a first." Tsunade then says "I have the perfect team to back up Team Kakashi." Shizune instantly knew it was team Guy. They start walking toward the rooms and Tsunade starts to open the door on the left.

Shizune then tried to tell her that it was the wrong door but didn't get the words out in time. Tsunade calls out to the unsuspecting team, "You guys have a S-Rank mission!" Konohamaru leaps up and down for joy as Ebisu paled in fear for the young genin. Shizune then says "You opened the wrong door milady. The team you're looking for is across the hall."

Konohamaru deflates and Ebisu takes a sigh of relief. Hiruzen takes a look at Konohamaru fondly and says "You'll make it one day Konohamaru." Konohamaru calls out to him saying, "Gramps! Can we get some dumplings later?!" Hiruzen nods and follows Tsunade to the next room.

Team Guy was sitting in the room patiently waiting as the door opened. Tsunade comes in and sees them. "I have a S-Rank mission for you. It's a backup assignment to the Hidden Sand." Guy spoke up saying "Who's the team we're backing up?" Tsunade smirked in the back of her mind, but dreaded the reaction of Guy and Rock Lee. "You guys are backing up Team Kakashi."

Guy gets exuberant and says "So Einjeru and Naruto had returned?!" He got a nod and continued. "How youthful this day has become! Lee! We must hurry and help our comrades!" Rock Lee jumps up saying, "Yes Guy Sensei!" Neji and Tenten face-palm at this act. Tsunade says "May I continue explaining the mission now?" Neji and Tenten grab Guy and Rock Lees' mouths and nod. Tsunade goes on to explain the mission and all the knowledge that she knew.

"Team Kakashi was sent to the hidden sand in response to a Level 1 emergency dispatch. However, during her guard patrol Einjeru encountered Itachi Uchiha. She is alright as far as we know, but Team Kakashi will need back up as this may have grown deeper than the Hidden Sand, Hidden Leaf or even team Kakashi know. You guys leave immediately."

Team Guy left the office immediately and headed for the gates of the village. Guy says "We must go at double the speed to catch to Kakashi and them." Rock Lee then says "I say we go at triple the speed so we can meet them at the Hidden Sand!" They went on youth rant before Neji shut it down saying "No matter what speed we go at; it will take three days to get to the hidden sand." Guy replies "Then let's go!"

Neji and Tenten sigh as Lee and Guy take off full speed. They fall in and start their trek to the Hidden Sand.


	16. Chapter 16

Treacherous Dealings/A New Mission Part 2

Back in the cave with Team Kakashi and two of the three sand siblings, each of them were taking turns guarding the cave entrance and watching the sandstorm subside. After Einjeru's shift she went over to where Kankuro was and laid next to him hoping to share some warmth. Naruto was watching the entrance and Sasuke sat next to him. Sakura was trying to make Kankuro as comfortable as possible. Temari was explaining what to look for in determining when a sandstorm will subside.

Einjeru was drifting to sleep and into her mindscape. Her inner demon smiles and says "Back so soon? Still debating?" Einjeru shrugs and says "I guess… I want to know something; doesn't the test of faith tether the person to you?" Her inner demon looked at her and nods. "It also is the key to the inhibitor on your powers… If something would happen to the person after they're tethered; the inhibitor is released." Einjeru sighs and lays down against a wall.

Naruto was watching the sandstorm intently. In his head he hears, " **Hey Naruto, it won't help you to be a nervous wreck over this. We need to think of this objectively.** " He shrugs and says "Doesn't Einjeru have a stake in this too? She seems to be the laxest of us right now." Kurama shakes his head. " **She has her own problems. She's almost of age in terms of being a demon. She may be mostly wolf, but she has some fox in her. She'll be sprouting another tail soon *sigh*** "

Sasuke looks at Naruto curiously and then looks at everyone else. He thinks to himself, "I should take care of Itachi, should we encounter him. I may be the only one who can. Kakashi may have a sharingan but it isn't strong enough to best him from what I heard from the last time those two fought. Naruto is his goal and Einjeru… is kind of off put by him. Sakura has become a fine medical ninja, but one of the rules of a medical ninja is that they are the last of their platoon to die/are never to fight on the front."

Sakura continues to research a little more into the poison used, so she can get working on an antidote as soon as they get into the sand village. She looks over at Einjeru and sighs. She started thinking of a mission where they had to stay out of the village, but she forgot her blanket.

 _Flashback:_

It was the mission where they tried to get Kakashi's mask off left and right and failed at every turn. After they finished the work for the day, the squad decided to stay the night. Sakura went to set up her sleeping bag and blanket and realized she didn't have one. She asked Einjeru, forgetting that she slept in her wolf form. Upon realizing that she laid upon the ground and tried to sleep. Little did she know, a little bit of weight and warmth fell upon her.

Sakura felt a nuzzling sensation and looked to see Einjeru on top of her. A half-sleep Einjeru said "Don't… get used… to this." Sakura smiled and started to fall asleep.

 _Presently:_

Einjeru shivers feeling how cold Kankuro is. She sits up, yawning. "Sakura… I think he's getting worse." Sakura nods saying "I don't have anything to help right now, unfortunately. His best hope is getting back to the Hidden Sand."

Einjeru looks down saying, "I see… I hope this storm subsides soon then." She stretches, allowing any bones to pop back into place.

Sakura looks at Einjeru sadly saying "There hasn't been any sign of it letting…" She gets interrupted by someone saying "It's letting up!" Temari comes for a look and nods. "We need to get ready to move." Sakura assisted in getting Kankuro onto Einjeru's back and ensuring that he wouldn't be jerked while they ran. About 10 minutes later, they left the cave.

They managed to get to the Hidden Sand village by nightfall, having taken no breaks to account for the time they were put behind because of the sandstorm. Baki had been awaiting their arrival, but didn't expect them to have Kankuro in tow. Einjeru remained quiet as they got Kankuro checked into the hospital. Baki looked at the four ninja and one wolf and said "I thought this was a five-man squad."

The wolf looked at Kakashi and his visible eye drifted to the door. The wolf walked out and Einjeru walked in a couple minutes later stretching. "Who said there wasn't five?" In her head, she said "Being in wolf form for more than eight hours makes me stiff…" Sakura then says "Is there anything else? I need to get to work." She shooed everyone who wasn't a medical ninja out of the room.

Baki looked at the four of them in an appreciative manner. "We're glad the leaf was able to respond so quickly." He looks at Kakashi and asks "Aren't these guys technically genin?" Kakashi looks at Naruto, Einjeru and Sasuke and tells them to go look around because that kind of talk was going to set their egos into overdrive. Einjeru decides to take a stroll and see if they had a shop around. Sasuke followed Einjeru and Naruto remained with Kakashi.

Kakashi looks at Naruto imploringly and gets in reply "It's ok Kakashi sensei. He's calling it out for what we are. I know we get easily offended and hot headed, but we can keep calm *stomach growl* Uh oh…" Kakashi chuckles and says "Go catch up with them. You haven't had a decent meal in almost three days. I'm pretty sure Einjeru is looking for a shop that has food." Naruto then decides to take a moderate paced jog to catch up.

Baki smiles and says "These guys are completely different than at the chunin exams. What happened?" Kakashi shrugs "Three of them weren't in my care for the last two years. They were training under masters. Sasuke remained under me, but other than that he's relatively the same."

Naruto manages to catch up to Sasuke and Einjeru who happened to be talking about the next meal. Einjeru was holding a parcel of meat and hears Naruto behind her muttering something about a lazy Uchiha. Unfortunately, Sasuke heard that and a tick mark seemingly appeared on his forehead. Einjeru sighed and says "We have training grounds for that, but for now let's get to the hotel so I can make something to eat." The sweet twinge in her voice made a shiver go up both of their spines.

They made their way to the hotel and their room where Einjeru started working her domestic magic. The smells had the boys entranced. Einjeru smiled having not been able to cook like that for two years, but the movements were still there. Naruto smiles and says "It's been a while since I had Einjeru's cooking."

At this point, Sasori and Deidara were in a position to start sealing, but Deidara decided to start an argument. "Well at least we got ours on the first try. What happened with the nine-tails?" Itachi shook his head. "I refuse to acknowledge a kid that is no older than our reinforcements and who has a big mouth." Kisame then appeared and said "We would've had them if it wasn't for the White Fang's brat, the younger brat that fried my clone, and the other elite jonin that are close to him." Meanwhile, in the sand village, Einjeru sneezes thinking "Who could be talking about me? What a drag…" Back in the leaf village a 16-year-old Nara got a slight inkling that someone used his catchphrase.

Deidara then says "We got ours on the first go, so kiss my ass you two!" Sasori then said "Shut it before I get Kakuzu to sew your mouth shut for you." Kakuzu and Hidan appear. Kakuzu grins and says "So your loudmouth won't shut up either huh?" Hidan objects saying "What'd you say Kakuzu? I'll kill you and offer you up to Jashin for that!" Kakuzu sighs and looks at Sasori and Deidara.

The shadow that has purple eyes with ripples in them calms them down. He looks to Deidara and says "Silence! We have a tailed beast to seal, and we do not need this petty arguing."

Itachi shakes his head and says "All because Deidara made a show..." The shadow then says "Itachi and Kisame will take care of them. We only need a little extra time, so stop arguing. We need to start the sealing." Itachi silently nods and they prepared to seal the one-tail Shukaku. Deidara had the bird spit out Gaara, and the lead shadow summoned a statue. Everyone got into their positions.

Back in the Hidden Sand, Einjeru got annoyed from hearing Naruto and Sasuke bickering. She closed her eyes and a purple aura washed over her. It spread from the kitchen to the room that Naruto and Sasuke bickered in. As soon it was felt, they ran out the door as fast as their feet would take them. They ended up running back to the hospital where Kakashi was.

Kakashi upon seeing them, thought to himself, "Einjeru must have let out some serious killing intent for them to be running like puppies with their tails in between their legs." As soon as they were sitting in front of Kakashi, an elder walked by and eyed Kakashi. She flared some killing intent and ran at him saying "This is for my son, time to die White Fang of the Leaf!"

Kakashi wasn't able to say anything as Sasuke and Naruto got into defensive positions. Naruto then said "This lady is crazier than Lady Tsunade! Why are you attacking Kakashi sensei?!" Sasuke nods and says "I'd like to know that as well. He's not the White Fang." Both Sasuke and Naruto thought to themselves "Thank Kami that Einjeru is content in making dinner and not here. Someone would have been killed."

Einjeru happened to have finished dinner and brought it to the hospital since no one came back after her silent anger aura scared Naruto and Sasuke off. She feels a pain in her butt, but shakes it off upon getting to the floor where Sakura was working. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi's mouths dropped upon seeing Einjeru. The elder looked back and saw a faint purple glow.

A low growl built up in the back of Einjeru's throat as she said "Unless you want an international incident to take place, Naruto and Sasuke stand down." Naruto and Sasuke did so and the elder looked at Einjeru laughing. Kakashi flashed behind her saying "It's a little misunderstanding. Calm down." Einjeru took a deep breath and the elder was on the attack again. As Einjeru put her arms up to block, another elder said "Chiyo? Why are you attacking this young man?"

Einjeru chuckled at the fact that Kakashi was called "Young man." The aptly named Chiyo then said "What are you talking about? This is the White Fang of the Leaf." Einjeru's eye twitched at the mention of her grandfather before she started belting out in laughter. "You think my dad is my grandpa?! That's rich!" She fell on floor and continued laughing.

Kakashi paled while Naruto and Sasuke face-planted. Chiyo looked at Einjeru scrupulously before Einjeru glared back and says "What's your problem with my dad anyways?" Chiyo continues staring at Einjeru and says "You must be the White Fang's brat!" Einjeru had a vein pop out of her forehead and she stood up saying "MY GRANDFATHER DIED 24 YEARS AGO!"

Kakashi grabbed Einjeru before she could get a chance to hit Chiyo. "Calm down you! Do _you_ want to have an international incident?" She tried to fight Kakashi's grip saying "She's crazy dad! She thinks that you're grandpa, and thinks I'm his kid instead of you. I'm the grandkid." He exhales as the other elder comes up saying "This youngling with the black and silver hair is correct." Naruto and Sasuke look at each other and thought "Should have seen this coming."

At this point, Team Guy has made it to land of wind/fire border. Guy says "We have made it to the halfway point. It's about a day and a half from the Hidden Sand Village. Let us make our way there youthfully." They continued their trek through the desert.

Sakura comes out of the room after healing Kankuro and flops on a chair. She sleeps through the argument taking place and the elder continues. "The White Fang committed suicide 24 years ago. How this young one knows is beyond me." Kakashi then says "If I may clear any misconceptions, my name is Kakashi Hatake, leader of the Leaf's team 7. The White Fang was my father and we do bear a striking resemblance." He sets Einjeru down and tells her to introduce herself.

Einjeru then says, albeit reluctantly, "I'm Einjeru Hatake. I'm the captain's daughter and _grand_ daughter of the White Fang." The elder then looks at Einjeru and Kakashi respectively. "I can see the family resemblance. Your hair and facial structures are all similar. I apologize for Chiyo; she can't seem to let go of the fact that the White Fang killed her son." Chiyo then says, "I was just kidding." Everyone (awake) including the other elder face-planted.

Sakura woke up to seeing everyone eating. Einjeru, who was calm and still rather confused to the elder's behaviors, brought a bowl of the hotpot over so Sakura could eat. "Einjeru? What happened?" Einjeru shook her head and said "You don't want to know." She sighed and says "Enjoy the food. You're going to need the energy." Sakura nods and eats. "Yum! Did you make this?" She got a nod in return and put some in a bowl for Kankuro when he wakes.

Kakashi comes over to her and says "Keep your temper in check. You don't think about your powers when you get upset. Your mother told me about when you lost it before." He got a sigh as she looked at him and said "You are aware that I have both your quiet anger and moms explosive anger right? The only time you need to worry about my powers is when my quiet anger shows."

Kakashi looked at her, surprised. "I didn't know you were capable of that." Einjeru rolled her eyes and said "Mom didn't tell you that she took the squad photo that I kept in my bag and burned it. As soon as the familiar scent hit my nose, my anger had skyrocketed past my normal explosive behavior and I blanked out. I woke up to grandpa's snout in my face."

Kakashi chuckled at the 'what must have been awkward' sight. "That I didn't know. You kept that funny photo as blackmail, and as something to make you smile when you were down in the dumps. I understand a little bit." Einjeru sighed and said "I really liked that photo…" Kakashi hands her his photo from his bag saying "Don't let your mother get ahold of this one okay?" Einjeru gave him a tight hug and joins the others.

While walking, Einjeru had a dark thought come across her mind and a bad memory surfaced. Her posture went rigid as if someone had gotten behind her and put a kunai to her neck. In her mind she started to say "Why am I feeling this presence? Who was/is that?" Naruto and Sasuke noticed the rigidness and walked over to her. Naruto starts off saying "Hey! Are you okay?"

Sasuke then felt something off and looked towards the window, sharingan ablaze. "Whatever she's feeling, she isn't wrong. Someone or something that isn't friendly is near." Kakashi readied a kunai and started hearing a loud thumping. "This sounds like… a heartbeat, but whose?"

Einjeru's legs started to shake and her heart started to thump against her rib cage. A voice that only she can hear rings out "It looks like you haven't forgotten my presence have you princess?" Her head jerked in all directions and her face was frozen in a fearful state. "Y-You… B-but how?"

As if everyone and everything froze, a shadowy fox appears from her shadow saying "That lovely torture session that I gave you which forced out your werewolf state after your mother burnt that picture. I saw that fire in your eyes once and I want to see it again. The fire of that anger that you carry is bright."

To everyone else, it looks like Einjeru started showing signs of hyperventilation. Her heart pounded and raced trying to calm, but her mind was in a state of shock as she felt a jolt. She grabbed her chest and started collapsing hearing "That fire will blaze eventually, and I'll be there to see it." Naruto managed to catch her and Sasuke came over saying "I have a feeling that it's related to something that happened during her training. I don't know why'd she be having a fit like that now though."

Chiyo came over and said "We don't have time to wait for your student to recover. We need to move." Kakashi told Naruto to lay Einjeru down and get ready as Sakura ran a quick diagnostic to make sure Einjeru was stable enough to be left. Sakura comes back over to them and says "Everything is perfectly fine. No chakra fluctuations, no anything. I'm thinking it was exhaustion."

Kurama brings Naruto into his mindscape for a spill. " **If Sasuke was able to sense that malicious intent, I'm sure you are. That presence can only be sensed by either a powerful demon such as myself, or someone with that same malicious will. You have the ability because of me, but it isn't strong enough. I'll have to train you a little bit. However, you'll have to wait until you're back in the village to start on that.** " Naruto comes to and notices that he's walking out the village.

Kakashi gives an eye smiles and says "Enjoy your mind walk?" Naruto looks around and says "Where's Einjeru?" Kakashi shook his head. A yell of "YOUTH!" rung throughout the desert as 2 shadows with dust clouds behind them started getting closer to the team.

Back in the hospital, Einjeru started to twitch and tensed up while she was sleeping.

 _Einjeru flashback nightmare:_

Einjeru and Anjera were returning from a training venture, and Einjeru notices that there was no light like usual. She thought that maybe that someone accidentally put the torch out. She gets a fire jutsu ready to reignite the torch. She gets close to the cave to sense an unusual presence. She snarls and says "Quit being scared and come out!"

A mysterious voice then says "Why are you being scared and not coming in?" Anjera upon hearing this yells out "Einjeru! Get away from there!" Einjeru then says "Huh?" The voice said "Too late." Some shadows came from the cave and grabbed Einjeru by the ankles. Anjera leapt into action to be knocked back. "Mom!" Einjeru got heated and tried to fight back.

The shadow then grabbed her arms. "Thank you for reminding me of your ability to fight back." Einjeru's eyes widened and she thought "Great… Just great. If dad saw me he'd scold me…" The voice said "You know; this is why you'll never get stronger. You always think of what daddy says, or mom is going to do if you messed up." Einjeru is dragged in the cave completely.

Sakumo in the meanwhile, was out looking for herbs and food. He hears the yelling and turns toward the mountains. "Could it be? Is that the demon who voiced their dissent?" He starts to run back to the mountains. "Please be okay."

Einjeru at this point was tied up, and the torches were lit. "What are you doing?! What did I do?" The voice ended up manifesting into a fox. "It's what you're not doing. You're ¾ demon, yet you act human! You're a disgrace to your mother! Hell, your mother is a disgrace for mating with a half-breed!" Einjeru then says "Say what you want about me, but my mother and father are off limits!" She struggles against the restraints to be told "The only ones who can break out of that are those of demonic royalty who embrace their powers."

Einjeru closed her eyes and thinks "My mark is still unstable. Even if I do embrace it, I still won't be able to control it." The fox then says "You are quite the cutie; I'll grant you that. To be able to charm the most powerful fox of them all is a remarkable feat." He knocks Einjeru on her back and climbs on top of her. "Maybe I'll take you for myself." She growls and wriggles from under him. "Not on your eternal life!"

Sakumo gets to the cave entrance to see Anjera knocked against the rock. "My lady! Are you alright?" He goes over to her and she says "Your suspicions are right, I'm sorry for not listening. Because of that Einjeru may be…" He shakes his head. "Not if I can help it." A scream of pain was heard and Sakumo used his skills to sneak in.

The fox smirks and ripped Einjeru's pants with a few slashes. He sees the blood and smiles. "Maybe there is a plus to you being part human. I can sustain myself with your blood." Einjeru screams out in pain. "There's no point in screaming. No one is going to come." A voice from the shadows said "Want to bet?!"

The fox chuckles and says "I doubt you'd be able to face me." He licks Einjeru's legs. She whimpers and a pack of wolves come out. "The Hatake do not take this too kindly." Sakumo then comes to the head to see Einjeru's legs. He snarled. "Did you do that to my grandbaby?"

The fox smirks. "So what if I did? Last time I checked, you're nothing but an old wolf." Sakumo shakes his head. "And the clan head!" The fox then says "Oh really?" Einjeru sits up and sees him. "G-grandpa…" Sakumo looks at her and smiles. "Don't worry." The fox slashed her in the most uncomfortable area. She screamed out in pain and Sakumo tackled the fox. "You know what; I never did care for foxes." They got in their defensive positions with their hackles raised.

Sakumo uses his most authoritative voice and says "Release your mark. After that tend to your mother. This is not going to be pretty." Einjeru didn't speak yet he knew what her eyes were saying. "You can do it! Stop doubting yourself and do what I'm telling you!" She closed her eyes and her mark glowed through her forearm protectors. Her hands became claws and she started turning into a giant wolf with black fur and silver markings.

She started to grow and the restraints started to bend. She snarls and growls. The restraints broke. Her inner self yelled out "I'm free!" Sakumo smiles seeing her full wolf form. However, since her human legs were injured, her rear legs were going to reflect it. She whimpered as she went outside. She saw Anjera and went over to her. "Mom? Wake up…"

Anjera woke up and saw Einjeru in her wolf form with her marking covering her. She sat up and told Einjeru to release it. Einjeru shook her head, and due to not having full control, she couldn't speak to tell Anjera that she couldn't undo it. Anjera got annoyed and said "Do it!" Einjeru whined and resorts to clawing the words out in the rock.

Anjera read it and shook her head. She then saw a picture sticking out of Einjeru's bag and grabbed it. She smiles looking at the picture and frowns sadly thinking "I'll have to force it out of you. I'm sorry about this Einjeru." She uses a small bit of fire chakra and ignites the picture.

In the meanwhile, Sakumo is facing the fox. The fox said "Well my job is done. Her powers are out, and now the queen will fall." Sakumo grew wide eyed at this and ran to the outer cave. Once he got out of the inner cave, he saw Einjeru sitting there composed. The smell of a burning photo hit her nose and a low growl came out. Her head turned to where the smell was coming from and saw the squad photo in Anjera's hand. "That… Picture…"

All of a sudden a white glow started poking into the cave and Einjeru started to grow bigger. Sakumo looked outside and saw a full moon. "Oh no… Her powers and temper are going to be unpredictable if shown to the moon's light."

Einjeru groans and says in a strained voice "Why did you burn _that_ picture?!" Anjera looks in astonishment. She then sees the moons glow "Oh crap… Einjeru, you need to fight the instinct!" Einjeru starts to growl and her eyes flickered between control and werewolf. "I'm going to… kill you!" The moonlight starts to completely show and her consciousness becomes overcame.

She grows even bigger and Sakumo looks in fear. "Werewolf state… It's rare that this ever comes out in any wolf demon. Anjera looks at him sadly and he says "This was my fault. I'm glad her ANBU guardian isn't here right now. We have to get her under control." Einjeru growls and looks at her mother. Sakumo looks at this and thinks "Maybe I could pin her while she's distracted."

Anjera looks at Einjeru and sees a hint of purple in her eyes. Anjera's eyes flashed to Sakumo and he nods. "Any sudden moves will probably trigger her." All of a sudden wooden restraints appear out of nowhere and drain her demonic chakra to the point where she fell asleep. "Good grief Einjeru. I can't go back to the village and report without you going crazy…"

 _Presently:_

Einjeru wakes up in a hospital bed, and senses Kankuro. A certain question rung through her mind, "Did I lose control again?" She feels a snout rubbing against her face as she opens her eyes. She sees a black nose and black eyes and all white fur. "Grandpa? Is that you?" Sakumo nods and says "You went into shock. One of the reasons I'm here is because your sub-consciousness brushed against my mind and it bothered me the way it was doing so."

Sakumo did a doggy shake and looked at Einjeru who had a bitter taste in her mouth. She starts off saying, " _He_ made an appearance. He was in my shadow… Did something happen? I'm still getting flashes of that one night, and…" Sakumo brings her a box of Pocky.

"Relax. That's another reason I'm here. Your mother has been having every single demon with an enhanced sense of smell tracking _him_ since that night in question. A lot of the wolf demons traced him here to the hidden sand, so I came to sniff around. You being here happened to be a bonus. So what's the mission?"

Einjeru sighed in resignation, taking the Pocky. "Grandpa… Our squad was sent to retrieve the Kazekage's son. He was kidnapped by the Akatsuki. However, he's also…" Sakumo hushed her instantly. "I am aware of what he is and who he carries. I've been doing some research myself, but isn't it unwise for Naruto to be on this mission?"

Einjeru shrugs. "We were the only squad mission-ready so we had to go for it. It's time-sensitive, you know this, and I'm here lying in bed while the others are fighting." She then sticks the Pocky in her mouth while Sakumo pulls the covers off in an attempt to examine her and see that nothing is wrong.

At this point the two squads were on their way to the hideout in two different directions to avoid being halted should one group encounter the enemy. Team Kakashi set their wireless mics to Team Guys frequency so they would be able to keep in contact. Team Guy was almost to the border of the land of wind/streams when a blast of water started coming at them. Team Kakashi plus Chiyo was at the same point but met with a fireball.

Einjeru felt a chill run down her back as if she sensed the fighting begin. "Sasuke… Don't do anything reckless." Sakumo looked at Einjeru and exhaled. "There's nothing wrong with you, so I don't know why you're sitting here saying that. Go. Complete your mission. I'll be with you all the way."

She strapped on her sword to hear a question from Sakumo. "What did you name your sword? You don't think the White Light Chakra Saber got its name by itself, do you?" Einjeru shook her head in an amused fashion. "I named it the minute you gave it to me. Silverlight is the name." Sakumo used a transformation and smirked. "I'm considering getting back in the game, if the hokage will let me."

He got a shrug in return as they were getting ready to head out. The other elder came in the room and says "I apologize for Chiyo. She's a card. Can you please make sure she makes it back in one piece?" Einjeru nods. "I'll try sir. I'm also going to try and bring Gaara back as well." The elder nods and steps towards the window. "I'd assume this would get you on your way faster?" He gives a smile and opens the window.

Einjeru jumps out of the window in a black, silver and purple blur. Flashing through the village, she had one thing on her mind and that was catching up. There was no way she was going to miss a battle like this. Naruto would only brag to her later. Sakumo trails her saying "Which group are we going to tag with?"

Not having given it much thought, Einjeru sweated for a moment. "We'll go to Team Guy since Team Kakashi has the five-men that it was originally meant to have… My spot being temporarily filled by Lady Chiyo, plus we don't know who we're up against yet. Tell me something though gramps, did you really kill her son?"

When this question was asked, they were out of the village and following Team Guy's tracks. Sakumo exhales sharply hoping to dodge the subject. "It was during the wars. We had to do dirty things to succeed. There hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about it. I'm also the man who ditched the mission to save his comrades, so don't you dare think of judging me on that young lady."

Einjeru shrugs thinking "Gramps. If I was judging you, I'd tell you I was. However, if you were able to do that, I'm pretty sure you could have done something to complete your mission _and_ protect your comrades. I'm a ways off from judging, but you never mentioned any of this and because of that, dad was attacked by a sand village elder who thought he was you." Sakumo sighed and remained silent. It was about 30 minutes before Einjeru and Sakumo caught up to Team Guy.

Upon seeing the water, Einjeru and Sakumo channeled chakra into their feet. Sakumo gave her hand signals to just observe and keep her chakra presence to a minimum. They watched from behind the rock to see Kisame entrapping three of the members in water prisons by means of water clones.

The main Kisame starts chasing after Guy. Sakumo decided to watch Guy and see how much he grew in about 20 years. Einjeru kept a watch on the three that were entrapped. "Lee… Neji… Tenten…" She felt a moist nose touch her hand and she looked down. "Pakkun? What are you doing here?" Pakkun smiled and said "I could ask you the same pup. You could be helping them."

Einjeru half glares at Pakkun and grips Silverlight. "I have all intentions to. I'm just waiting for the main one to be completely distracted." Sakumo chuckles and turns to Einjeru. "He's distracted. Use your half-moon strike and take the clones out, and hurry. From the looks of things, the girl won't last much longer." Before anyone knew it, a silver arc slashed through the clones causing the water prison to break.

Rock Lee took a look in all directions wondering where the slash came from to eye a black, purple and silver ninja holding what looks to be a katana. "Who are you?" The ninja, or kunoichi in question looked at Rock Lee ready to face-fault. "You're telling me after two years that you don't recognize me?" Neji and Tenten think to their-selves, "She looks like Kakashi…" The yelling of "ASA-KUJAKU!" distracted them for a moment.

Behind the rock, Sakumo and Pakkun look on at Guy and Kisame, the latter getting pummeled with what looks like fire. Sakumo was impressed at the display. "So Guy has grown huh?" Pakkun chuckles. "Him and Kakashi have the most insane rivalry matches." Sakumo nods in acknowledgment.

Back with Lee, Neji, Tenten and Einjeru (Who they have yet to recognize); they're staring at her wondering who she is. Neji takes a look through Byakugan and gasps. "Her chakra level is low, yet she's still…" Einjeru then said "Oh." And stopped suppressing her chakra. Neji gave a bigger gasp causing Tenten and Lee to look at him curiously. "Her chakra… The presence is huge, almost inhuman…"

Einjeru grew annoyed at them not recognizing her and said "It's Einjeru! You know, the girl who used to be the shortest girl on Team Kakashi?" Lee got elated about this and said "How youthful this mission has become?!" Neji cut him off there asking Einjeru why she wasn't with Team Kakashi.

Sakumo who was under the guise of Shirobuki butt in because her mental stance would be questioned if she answered truthfully. "I held her. I needed her for something pertaining to the mission. It ended up tying up with something that I was doing." Neji looked at him, wondering who he was. Einjeru fronted that saying "His name is Shirobuki. He's one of the distant relatives I've been training with for the two years I've been out of the village."

Lee nods in understanding and says "Shouldn't we be helping Guy sensei?" Einjeru looks over where Guy and Kisame are thinking "I wanted a piece of that fish cake…" The four of them walked over and saw that Guy had a look of disbelief on his face. Einjeru looked down and saw why. "This is a really good impersonation jutsu. His chakra and scent was masked perfectly." Guy looked at Einjeru saying "Do I know you?"

Einjeru face-planted in the sand, got up and recomposed herself. "Take a look at the hair and think 'Who does she look like?' Think hard." Guy looked at the hair and thinks "I know only one person with black and silver hair, but the hairstyle looks like… Kakashi's." He looks at her face one good time as she gives a smile. "Einjeru? Is that you?" He got a nod in return.

Back with Team Kakashi, Naruto ends up in a genjutsu and blasts a rasengan out of nowhere. Sasuke and Kakashi try to hold down Itachi with their sharingan. Itachi was impressed with the level of growth that Sasuke and Naruto have demonstrated, but didn't show it. "So it seems that the team's fighting spirit isn't just one of them, but all of them." He allowed the faintest of smiles on his face and grips Kakashi's and Sasuke's fists.

Team Guy plus Einjeru and Shirobuki make up for the lost time from the battle by going full speed. Neji has his byakugan going, Einjeru has her senses stretched as far as she could allow. As they got into the forest, Einjeru's nose twitched as she caught a whiff of something burned. "I smell burnt wood, and it wasn't a traditional fire. I sense faint traces of chakra."

Neji starts seeing Team Kakashi on the edge of his Byakugan. "I see Team Kakashi to our east." Einjeru flashes ahead readying her hand signs. Sakumo allows a smile to grace his face as he hears her thoughts. "She knows it's probably another impersonation. However, she is genuinely concerned for her teammates and family."

Neji wanted to say something but Guy told him not to. "Einjeru is too headstrong for anything to stop her. I see that hasn't changed from the time I started training her. I'm pretty sure she's formulated a plan in her head, and from those signs it's best to stay out of her way."

Itachi by this point recognizes that Kakashi and Sasuke are clones, and Kakashi pops out of the ground with an uppercut aimed for Itachi's chin. Sasuke has a fire jutsu ready, but Itachi dodges. Kakashi performs a reverse handspring, getting out of range in time.

Chiyo and Sakura notice that Itachi is distracted and release Naruto from his genjutsu. Sakura looks at Naruto and asks if he's ok. He nods saying "I couldn't break it. I tried so hard." Chiyo replied in a calm voice "The Uchiha were exceptionally skilled with genjutsu and they're hard for anyone to break out of. You're lucky you weren't by yourself."

Itachi lands in the grass and starts weaving signs for the fireball jutsu. Sasuke and Kakashi catch the signs but noticed a fireball coming up from behind Itachi. Kakashi immediately weaved the signs for the multi-mud wall. From the trees, Einjeru was perched with her headband over her eyes. Sasuke notices and smirks thinking "It's about time."

Guy and Lee appear with their dynamic entry after the fireball dissipated. Itachi landed face first in the dirt. Kakashi put his headband over his sharingan and walked over slowly to Itachi. Naruto came up behind and Einjeru landed on the ground from her perch in the nearby tree. She set her headband back on her forehead and walked over to them.

Chiyo, Sakura and Naruto walked up. Chiyo had a surprised expression on her face. "This man… He's on the Hidden Sand's council." Einjeru then said "Do you think it could have been a puppet master jutsu or something?" Chiyo shrugged and started writing something on a scroll to send back to the Hidden Sand. Kakashi looked at Einjeru and said "So you did learn that jutsu?"

Kakashi got a shrug in return for that question. Einjeru smiled and said "Well at least I know it's battle ready. You also told me to learn fire style so I did." Naruto looked at Einjeru and said "So you have two chakra natures under your belt now?" Einjeru shook her head and put up three fingers.

Sasuke looked on curiously and wondered what the third nature was. Einjeru shook her head and said "We're still on a mission here. Besides, you saw me use my third chakra nature already." Sakura nods and Kakashi looks at Chiyo. She sends off a toy summon and nods at the 2 squads.

They took to the trees and within the hour, Kakashi told them to stop. Chiyo and surprising Guy, who was _not_ going on about the power of youth, agreed. The main two people who argued were Einjeru and Naruto. "Are you kidding?! Gaara will be dead if we don't reach him!"

Kakashi sighed and said "Look at the two of you. You're both panting, and considering the fact that we fought a major battle, we've slowed considerably. Naruto I could understand wanting to keep going, but Einjeru; he could have almost killed you. What is your reason for continuing?"

Einjeru's fist clutched. "It's not about that. It never was. I may not like Gaara as a person, but I still see him as a person with a burden. He holds Kurama's brother and that's enough for me. Also, maybe if he saw that he has someone who cares maybe he wouldn't be like that! Not every village is like the Hidden Leaf, and we're not saints either, or did you forget?!"

Kakashi and Guy's jaw dropped upon hearing something that profound coming out of Einjeru's mouth. Her eyebrows were furled in an upset manner and her mouth was set in a motion to growl. Chiyo then says "You know what he carries, don't you?" Einjeru calmed only slightly and nodded.

"I really despise people who just place burdens on people just for the sake of it. People like that make me sick." Chiyo gets a bewildered look on her face. Einjeru continues on. "People like Gaara and Naruto have had targets on their backs from the moment they're born, yet everyone calls them the outcast. I hate it."

Kakashi shakes his head and bonks Einjeru on the head. "What is the matter with you? You weren't like this before you left." Sakumo shakes his head and takes Kakashi to the thicker part of the woods. "You idiot! Did you forget their burdens? The two years I've been watching her, I've noticed something. Her mask that she kept on around strangers, was cracking. Anjera spent the two years stripping the mask off and forcing Einjeru to be honest with herself and everyone. Along with that was getting her to show the emotion on her face."

Sakumo folds his arms and allows Kakashi to speak. "So basically all that time from the academy to her first few months as a genin?" Sakumo nods. "Totally reconditioned. She won't be hiding anything to the point of breaking anymore. The time of her wearing an emotional mask is done, these are her true emotions as they flow.

Back with the others, Naruto sat next to Einjeru who wasn't feeling too sociable at the moment. "Hey Einjeru? Why are you getting so worked up?" Einjeru sighed and leaned back against a tree. "Two years of training… Learning about different types of demons and the tailed beasts. This type of mission; it really makes me reflect on that."

Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Tenten and Lee joined Naruto and wondered why Einjeru lashed out like she did. Einjeru pulled a Sasuke and smiled. "Most of my emotions and lashing out were hidden behind a mask. The smart-alick that you came to know was just my distain hidden behind a mask. A mask that was developed after the land of waves to hide my shock from my first kill, which still comes back to haunt me."

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were no strangers to her shock and knew the mask as it had formed. The laid back Einjeru and the explosive Einjeru were hand in hand in the same mask, but no one saw an empathetic or upset to the verge of tears side of her. Lee gives a flashy grin and says "Well you're still the same person no matter what!" He got a smile in return.

Chiyo and Guy stand together waiting for Kakashi to come back. Chiyo looked at Einjeru and Naruto curiously. "I wonder… Why those two would go so far for someone who isn't of their village." Guy smiles having known those two since they were six. "Those two have basically grown up together. Their secrets have made them forge bonds with others even if they don't know it yet. That's just who they are."

Kakashi and Sakumo come back to see the genin and chunin sitting together. "It looks like they settled down." Guy nods to Kakashi. "When we get back to the village, let's have our rivalry match!" Kakashi gave his signature eye smile. "I'd like to, but I want to spend some time with Einjeru when we get back."

At this point the genin and chunin have worked out a guarding schedule for the night so they could get some rest. Einjeru went and tracked down the supper while Naruto would find the firewood and everyone else set up tents.

After supper, Einjeru took the 2-hour watch, followed by Sasuke and Naruto for an hour and a half, followed by Neji and Lee for an hour and a half, followed by Sakura and Tenten for an hour and a half, followed by Guy and Kakashi for the last hour and a half.

Einjeru made her eight shadow clones to fan out in all directions while she sat guard over the tents. "I pray to Kami above, please let us save Gaara… *scoffs* sounds stupid coming from a demoness, but if he is listening, please let us make it." Somewhere down the line, her prayer was answered, but not in the way she expected or wanted.


	17. Chapter 17

Treacherous Dealings/A New Mission Part 3

Two hours had passed since Einjeru started her guard duty. Four of her shadow clones came across what looked like barrier seals. Upon dispersing them, Einjeru had gone into deep thought. "What could those seals be a barrier for, and why were they marked forbidden? Are there other seals somewhere outside of our perimeter?" After letting the questions sink in, she woke Naruto and Sasuke up for their guard.

For those two, their guard went by quickly, neither of them had any clue about the barrier seals. Naruto had sent shadow clones out for a perimeter check and went to take a piss in a nearby river seeing a piece of parchment on a boulder and dismissing it as lack of sleep. Sasuke stayed in the campsite in case someone got past Naruto and his shadow clones. After Naruto dispersed the clones and accumulated their memories, he and Sasuke woke up Neji and Lee for their guard.

Neji and Lee both remained inside the camp. Neji triggered his byakugan and got a 360 degree look of everywhere in a 10-kilometer radius. He ended up seeing the four barrier seals that Einjeru saw plus the one that Naruto saw and dismissed. "Are those barrier seals?" Neji thought. Lee decided to put his body to work and went for a walk. Upon coming back Lee looked at Neji and said "Did you see some pieces of parchment in various places?"

Neji nodded and said "I wonder if any of the others noticed. However, it isn't a direct threat to us now, so I guess we leave them until/unless they impact us in some way." Lee acknowledges it and notices that their shift is over. "I guess it's time for Sakura and Tenten to take watch." They go over to them and wake them. Sakura and Tenten's patrol was quiet.

The final patrol of the night was taken by the two sensei. Guy smiles at Kakashi saying "The next generation is growing fast, isn't it?" Kakashi looked up at the sky, the fires glow highlighting his mask and making his silver hair look orange. "Yeah, it seems like only yesterday that Lord Third sent me after Einjeru and told me that she's mine. She's grown so much in 10 years. Three chakra natures under her belt, her shadow clones surpass mine in numbers and quality. I just wish she'd open up more to me. It seems when I pry, she closes up more."

Guy nods and says "Maybe these two years away from you was what was needed. Who knows? She might come to you more. Look at how far all of them have come. Sasuke especially. He doesn't obsess over revenge anymore. He looks after his comrades and those really close to him and because of that has grown stronger. His sharingan has matured working with you. You have to admit even Sakura has found her way while working under Lady Tsunade. Naruto working with Master Jiriaya has allowed him to become even stronger and explore… well you know."

Kakashi smiled and said "If Naruto tried any of those perverted stunts, Einjeru would destroy him. She never tolerated him doing any of those perverted jutsu in their academy time. However, encountering Itachi was not on the agenda. I hope Sasuke doesn't slip back into his old ways."

Guy gives the nice guy grin and stirs the fire. "If he does, he has his teammates to bounce back from. Einjeru is not one to give up on her teammates, and you instilled that value into her moral fibers. If it came down to it, she with Naruto and Sakura would bring him back kicking and screaming. Stop doubting yourself. You've done well with them and your instincts were all on the money. All those that you sent back weren't ready and you knew it. Although some of us thought it was because you were hurting still, but in the end, they needed it. Sometimes all it takes is some tough love."

Kakashi shrugged and gave Guy a smile. "Thanks Guy. I haven't had this kind of talk in over 20 years. I mean the kind where someone was cheering me up and giving the listening ear and I actually vented how I felt." Little did he know, Einjeru had woken up and heard all of it. She crawls out of her tent causing Guy and Kakashi to tense.

Upon seeing them tense, Einjeru sighs. "You know if it was an enemy because they'd be a little quieter coming out of a sleeping bag and tent." Kakashi sighed and said "How much did you hear?" Einjeru shrugs in an uncaring fashion. "All of it. Now I will walk away as if I didn't." She walks away as she said and takes to the trees to look at the moon. Her inner voice took over as she said nothing.

'Is this what you meant by dad being concerned mom? I know he seems a little overprotective, but hearing him pour his heart out like that makes me wonder what having both of you in my life from the start would have been like.'

Kakashi found the tree she was sitting in and joined her in looking at the moon. "So? What do you think the outcome is going to be?" Einjeru frowned saying "I don't think we're going to make it. We were stalled big time." She punched the bark. "Damn those Akatsuki. There's no way to bring him back from having Shukaku extracted, and from the looks of things they have been sealing for at least 2 days. If we weren't halted by those two we might have had a chance. Of course I'm going to continue to try."

"Sounds quite gloomy coming from someone who always had a smile on her face and cheering everyone on." A joke with a hidden meaning from Kakashi got through to her. She gives a small smile and leans against him. "We both know that it was just a farce. I thought I was optimistic at one time, but the last two years made me realize something. I'm not. I'm a realist, and sometimes stuff like this hurts. I know it's ok to have feelings and vocalize them, but they're not going to change a thing. We make things happen ourselves."

Kakashi scoffs at how profound that was. "Be ready to move soon. I'm willing to bet that we can bring him back." Einjeru smiles. "When we get back home, can we talk?" She got an eye-smile in return as Kakashi leapt down from the tree. That same voice from earlier in the day popped in her head, but she quelled it thinking "If it comes down to it, I'll kill you myself with my _human_ abilities."

Upon that affirmation, Einjeru jumped down from the tree. "It's a good day to defy fate huh?" A smirk pasted on her face, she went back and joined Kakashi and Guy in their remaining guard time because she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon. Guy greets her in a somewhat quieter manner than what she's used to.

"So? I can't wait to see what the daughter of my eternal rival has up her sleeve." Einjeru sighed as she sat down and took in the peace of the woods before the sun rose. "If you must know Guy sensei, the fact that none of your team recognized me or noticed my presence until I revealed myself should give you some hint of what I have up my sleeve. Either way what's our game plan? During my patrol I came across 4 barrier seals and I have a slight inkling that there might be more that were outside of my guarding perimeter."

Kakashi and Guy looked at her wide-eyed. "What do you mean?" Upon the question being asked, the sun was making its way above the horizon. Einjeru says "I may not have been the only one who saw them. I have a feeling a certain Hyuuga saw them too. I found them via my shadow clones. I think we should talk about the guard patrols before we head out." Kakashi and Guy nodded.

Everyone else started to wake. A few minutes later, the 2 squads, 2 jonin and 2 retirees were sitting around what used to be a fire for a talk about the previous night. Kakashi started off being the senior tactician saying "Einjeru told me she came across 4 barrier seals. I want to know if anyone else saw one or all of them."

Neji replies in a curt manner saying "I did a 10-kilometer check of our surroundings and saw 5 of those seals. 4 being in the areas that Einjeru had checked because of paw prints that she left to signify that she had check those areas. It's an efficient way to track your guarding patterns, but a sure fire way to allow the enemy to find us. However, there was one in the area where Naruto was as well. He left footprints where he went to the bathroom at. That stream has a boulder across from where Naruto was that looks like an entryway to a cave with that same barrier marker."

Einjeru shrugged saying "If that's the case, then we should have no problem finding four of the barrier markers. Also that 5th one that you described might be the hideout where the Akatsuki took Gaara. Unfortunately, we won't be able to determine that without a nose sensor or someone who knows the chakra near by the boulder. We have a lot of variables and too many speculations with very little time to sift through it all."

Kakashi nods and looks at the 2 groups of teenagers. "Spoken like a true tactician. There are too many variables to go through and formulate a plan on, plus we may be dealing with Akatsuki that we haven't yet to encounter, meaning we must be absolutely careful." He got a "Yes sir!" in reply from everyone before giving the instruction to pack quickly.

Within 10 minutes everyone was packed and in a formation that could be used with 11 people. Kakashi, Einjeru and Shirobuki in the front with their noses followed by Sakura as the medic followed by Chiyo as an experienced member followed by Lee, Naruto, Sasuke, Guy and Tenten as the main battlers followed by Neji as the rear lookout.

Einjeru's nose twitched upon coming across the scent that they crossed in the desert. "I smell wood and poison again…" She went to the east where the stream was. Everyone else followed with Neji giving the look around. He passed the message that they were heading right for the boulder.

Once it got to the front, chatter started. Einjeru groaned. "I hate when my hunches are correct." Kakashi chuckles. "It just means your mind has gotten keener. Also, it means we make it to Gaara that much sooner." Einjeru shrugs and says "That means we have to fight sooner. Either way, we need to have a plan in place for removing the other seals."

Shirobuki butted in saying "Shadow clones. It's your best option in case the seals are rigged after they're torn off." Einjeru shook her head. "Only 3 of us can use shadow clones, someone would still have to go with them."

A call of shadow clone jutsu was called out. In the corner of her eye, Einjeru makes out two Shirobukis. "I didn't know you could make shadow clones." Shirobuki smirked. "Never said whether I could or couldn't." A couple minutes later, they stood in front of the boulder.

Kakashi, Einjeru, Shirobuki and Naruto each made a shadow clone a piece and sent them to the other seals. Once they were on the way Kakashi explained everything. "Alright, we're going to use the button-hook entry method. Einjeru, Shirobuki, myself, Naruto, and Chiyo will be on the left. Guy, Lee, Neji, Tenten will be on the right. Sakura will smash the boulder after Sasuke removes the tag in front of us. Understood?" He got an acknowledgement and leapt to the top of the boulder.

At the same time, the Akatsuki had finished sealing Shukaku. The leader says to Sasori and Deidara to dispose of the 11 of them outside. Itachi warns them to be careful. "Those guys were able to fend off Kisame and myself at 30% of our chakra capacity." He disappears, leaving Kisame and Deidara to ponder.

The shadow clones got into place and were ready to pull. "Shadow clones are in place dad." Kakashi nods as all of them say "1, 2, 3!" As soon as it was pulled, Sakura charged in, her fist ablaze with chakra. As the boulder smashed to bits, the shadow clones dispersed.

They flashed into the cave, seeing Deidara and Sasori. Upon laying eyes on Sasori, Chiyo gave a shallow breath. "Sasori… How long it's been since I last saw my grandson." Sasori looked at Chiyo, speaking in a gravelly voice, "Hello grandma Chiyo."

Einjeru wanted to gag at how strong the poison emanating off of Sasori was. "Well we know who defeated Kankuro and his puppets." She takes a double-take at Chiyo upon hearing her say grandson. "He's your grandson?" Chiyo nods in a somber manner.

"I never thought I'd have to fight my own grandson. Things were so hard after he'd lost his parents, but I thought that maybe teaching him the intricacies of the puppet master jutsu would cheer him up. He ended up creating the puppets that Kankuro uses, and he created a few special ones. Currently he's hiding in the Hiruko puppet."

Naruto and Einjeru nodded and noticed Deidara sitting on Gaara. Naruto wanted to yell at Gaara to get up. One word that was barely audible yet everyone heard came out of Einjeru's mouth. "Unforgivable…" A purple glow started to shine. Deidara decides to taunt them by saying "You guys are a little late. He's been dead for a few minutes now."

Einjeru grit her teeth and grabbed Silverlight from its sheathe; Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke readied kunai. Kakashi prepared for taijutsu along with Lee, Guy and Neji who in turn triggered his Byakugan. Tenten readied one of her scrolls. Sasori shakes his head. "Rumor has it that a jinchuuriki is among them."

Naruto debates going into nine-tails chakra mode. Einjeru says "Don't. It's not worth it." She then feels a sharp pain up her back. In her mind, she's thinking of possibilities for the pain but couldn't think of any plausible ones; well at least until it hit her. Her inner voice rung out. "Could it be another tail?" Her back stiffened to reduce the effect of the pain of her new growing tail. "I thought this growth happened as I got older…"

Kurama chuckles from inside Naruto. "It also happens when you're faced with extreme emotion. I guess Queen Anjera forgot to mention that..." Einjeru fought to prevent herself from rolling her eyes.

Deidara laughs seeing Einjeru stiffen. "Look at her Sasori. She's stiff." Sasori shakes his head and takes a look at Einjeru fully. "You idiot. She isn't scared. She's in pain, and like me, doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Deidara decided to see if he could bait out Naruto thinking he's the jinchuuriki. "Don't you guys want him back?" However, it didn't get a rise out of him. It got a rise out of Einjeru. "You… are so DEAD!" Kakashi grabbed Einjeru, trying to calm her. "Getting upset won't help this."

Kurama applauded Naruto for not shouting out like he used to. " **However, it seems that Queen Anjera never dealt with her temper, and her ANBU guardian was frightful of her when it got to a point. Poor Kakashi brat…** " Einjeru squirmed for 30 seconds before calming.

Kakashi breathed out a sigh. "Alright. Now we-" He was cut off by a sudden explosion. Shirobuki thinks to himself, "Explosive style huh? From the looks of things, the explosives are mostly earth chakra based making Kakashi, Einjeru and Sasuke the worst opponents for him."

Sasuke says "The blonde sitting on Gaara is an earth style user. Einjeru, you and I can take him on." Kakashi nods in agreeance. "Alright. We'll handle him. Everyone else; be careful with Sasori." Shirobuki shakes his head thinking "If Kakashi thinks that I'm going to let only them three go he's sorely mistaken."

Deidara didn't even consider a chase from an Uchiha and two Hatake, but thought to lure Naruto out by flying out of the cave with Gaara. Einjeru charged after with Kakashi and Sasuke hot on her tail. Sasuke then asked, "Sensei, I want to try the jutsu that I derived from the chidori." Einjeru was surprised by that and frowned inwardly.

Kakashi then said "Well here's your chance to try the chidori senbon. We have multiple bombs coming towards us. Einjeru, fall back." Einjeru flipped behind him and kept an eye on Deidara. She made sure not to let them see her tears as she blinked them away. In her mind she said, "What have I been doing these past two years? Sasuke had created variants of the chidori which was dads original jutsu… and one that dad passed down to me… All I've done is learn new chakra natures and learn about my supernatural powers that I can't even use."

Shirobuki came up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Just because he did something like that doesn't make your training any less fruitful. Use your wings. When we said you couldn't use them, we meant not in the village. On a mission, you don't know what you'll encounter, so circumstances being what they are here, we need that kind of advantage."

Einjeru shrugged, pondering what Shirobuki was doing there. "It won't hurt to try." She didn't realize that she lagged behind Kakashi and Sasuke while talking to Shirobuki. When the bombs didn't go off, Einjeru smirked at the fact that Sasuke could determine chakra natures from hand signs, but felt a slight pang of jealousy.

Sasuke, disarming the bombs, kept his eyes planted on Deidara. Kakashi, he had his hands in an odd hand sign and his sharingan eye closed doing so. Einjeru saw it as her chance to duck to the logs below and use her wings. Upon spreading them, she passed by Kakashi and Sasuke, flying up under Deidara and stabbing the bird with Silverlight.

Because Einjeru couldn't maintain her wings too long, the feathers started flying into the wind and she was stuck holding onto her sword for dear life. Sasuke saw the feathers and looked at the bird. "Kakashi… Tell me you're almost ready?"

Kakashi opened his eye to reveal his mangekyo sharingan. "Why are you saying that Sasuke?" Sasuke pointed at their resident Black, Purple and Silver clothed kunoichi on their squad holding on to their kunai.

Shirobuki sighed, as he expected this. "Hold on Einjeru…" Kakashi internally groaned. "She is so in trouble when she returns. A question would be how the hell she got up there." He focused on Deidara's arm as more bombs started falling. Sasuke used the chidori senbon again.

Back with the others handling Sasori; Sasori had unleashed the puppet jutsu that took down an entire nation. Chiyo unleashed the puppet jutsu that was heard to have taken an entire fortress and attached her puppet strings to the others so she could help them evade the attacks that Sasori's puppets made. Other than the helpful evasion, they were able to move as they saw fit.

Guy, Lee and Sakura were punching through the puppets like no one's business. Neji, using his byakugan was detaching the chakra strings from the puppets, rendering them useless. Naruto was using the rasengan like mad, shoving them into the puppets and causing an explosion that destroyed dozens of them. Tenten was unleashing kunai into the joints of the puppets, causing them to be unable to move.

Sasori was moderately impressed by the fact that all of them were able to evade and destroy his puppets. He failed to notice Sakura coming in and destroying the Hiruko puppet that he was hiding in. Chiyo looked at him in shock. "That's impossible. You look the same as when you left… You didn't age." She took a closer look at him and saw the joints. "I see… You made yourself into a human puppet."

Sasori smirked and pulled out a scroll that had the marking for 3 on it. When the puppet appeared, Chiyo visibly paled. "That's the third Kazekage. Praised for his use of the Iron Sand, he disappeared and no one found his body. Be careful everyone. If you get hit by his Iron Sand, it will be over for you." Sasori gave a demented laugh. "This is art in its purest form! You shall kneel before my human puppets!" Naruto cringed at the thought of being done in by a puppet, but the mental training he underwent with Kurama allowed him to think rationally about it. His stance grew rigid, and Einjeru was able to feel it.

Back with Deidara and the others, Einjeru grew rigid. She gritted her teeth and started channeling lightning into her sword which was inside the bird. Silverlight started sliding out and the bird was coming down. "Oh hell…" Shirobuki noticed it and thought to himself, "Hold on Einjeru. We're coming."

The bird was coming down faster, and Einjeru was still dangling from a dangerous height. "HELP!" Sasuke got ready to take to the higher logs before hearing "Wait!" Sasuke faced Kakashi to see him focusing in on Deidara. "I need you to stay still Sasuke." Shirobuki decided to make his presence known to the two of them saying, "That better not harm Einjeru, Kakashi. I don't need to remind you of what will happen should she get injured."

Kakashi snorted. "I know what will happen, but I think this is a good lesson for Einjeru about going in half-cocked. I did see the lightning flow from her sword into the bird, so I know she gave us an advantage. That's why I'm attempting to take him out."

Einjeru went for a kunai knife to keep herself in place. "Well I could try and get Gaara…" She decided to use her mountain climbing skills and scaled her way to the head. Deidara started seeing the shimmer of a kunai knife and looked down at the dangling kunoichi. "Well would you look at this. A girl managed to get on my bird." He grabbed Einjeru by the scruff of her shirt.

Shirobuki notices this and gets Kakashi's attention. "He has Einjeru by the scruff!" Kakashi cursed at this. "Damn it! I need to focus on his head. It'll be bad if he shifts though."

Einjeru smirked saying, "You made a big mistake by not grabbing my arms." She put her hands in a sign all too familiar to her, Naruto and those who use that jutsu. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two clones appeared on the bird and grabbed Deidara by the arms.

Down below Kakashi noticed the poofs of smoke and sighed. "Einjeru is making things more difficult. Did you know what she was planning Shirobuki?" Shirobuki shook his head. "She's more or less improvising at this point."

Back with Sasori, all of them just dodged an attack from the third Kazekage's Iron Sand. Chiyo utilized Neji's byakugan with her puppet master jutsu to disable the chakra strings. Sakura, Lee, Guy and Naruto charged in with chakra charged punches, obliterating the puppet and then facing Sasori, who had no choice but to use himself. "It's been a long time since I had to fight using myself."

Everyone saw a pair of spinning claws attached to his lower back, a holder for four scrolls on his back, a stinger in the empty and open stomach cavity, a compartment in his right chest, and a core of living flesh in the left which had the kanji for scorpion. His eyes were wide open which made him look like a maniac.

Kurama, from inside Naruto, didn't like where this was heading. " **I think some of you should go back up Kakashi-brat and the others.** " Naruto silently acknowledges, but ponders to himself about who should go with. Kurama makes a couple of suggestions. " **Take the green-clad guys and the weapons girl. The Byakugan kid would serve more useful here and so will your pink-haired teammate in case one of those left is poisoned.** "

Naruto calls out to Guy, Lee and Tenten saying "Maybe we should leave him to Sakura, Neji and Lady Chiyo. They do have the best chance of surviving against this guy. We should go help Kakashi sensei and the others." They head out and charge to where the flying bomb was.

Back with Deidara, the bird was getting closer to the logs, and Einjeru's shadow clones, before popping, managed to pull Deidara back where the main Einjeru was able to gain footing. She grabbed Silverlight from the bird and got into her swordsman position. Deidara smirked and threw a couple of mini bombs which were disarmed by Einjeru channeling lightning into Silverlight. "Please, your jutsu is getting old. I can disarm it by channeling lightning chakra into my weapons and using lightning based jutsu. Why don't you do us a favor and surrender peacefully?"

Deidara laughed hysterically. "Do you really think that you're going to get me to surrender? No! You have no meaning of art! Art… Is an explosion!" Before Einjeru knew what happened, she started seeing white. From below, everyone else saw the explosion and Einjeru falling.

Kakashi and Shirobuki both thought the same thing. "If she keeps falling at this rate… She'll suffer long lasting damage or… Die." Upon completing that thought, puffs of smoke appeared and they were surrounded by a sea of Orange. Naruto managed to break her fall, but she was battered. The shadow clones dispersed and the main Naruto reunited with everyone.

Kakashi wanted to face-palm so badly in that moment, but noticed that Deidara was up there intact. He focused on Deidara and a void appeared near Deidara's arm. "What the hell? My arm is being sucked in!" Upon trying to pull away, his arm got ripped off. The bird finally made a crash landing, allowing the others to break the head away and release Gaara.

Deidara came out of the bushes, holding his arm (well what was left of it,) and frustrated. "Damn sharingan wielders. I'll truly show you the ultimate art! Art is… an EXPLOSION!" He ate the clay from the bird and started to puff up like a puff pastry. Before the explosion was able to spread, Kakashi was able to transport it to another. dimension using the mangekyo sharingan.

Throughout all of this, Sakura, Neji and Chiyo managed to find out that Sasori's chakra was based in the one organ showing. Chiyo looked at Neji and Sakura saying "We need to strike him in the core of his." Neji uses his byakugan to determine if the hypothesis was accurate. "I only see chakra flow in that one area. If I can get close enough, I might be able to disable him using 8 trigrams 64 palms."

Sakura pulled out a vial and handed it to Neji. "This is an antidote should you get hit with Sasori's poisoned weapons." She got a nod from him as he slipped the vial into his sleeve.

Sakura and Chiyo charged in for the diversion and led Sasori into Neji's range. Neji grunted in preparation. "You're in the range of my divination. Gentle Fist Art; 2 palms, 4 palms, 8 palms, 16 palms, 32 palms; 8 trigrams 64 palms!" Upon the last strike, a blast of chakra shot out, thrusting Sasori backwards. Neji was panting from exhaustion and was near chakra depletion.

Sasori's voice rung out through the cave causing the three of them to go rigid. Sasori gave a demented laugh. "It was a nice attempt, but that can't stop a puppet." Neji thinks to himself "Damn! That was the best idea that we had." Chiyo notices that Sasori was standing where the mother and father puppets were.

Sasori decided to monologue about how invincible he was which became his undoing. All of a sudden he started coughing up blood and looks at his core to see two swords pierced through it. Each sword was in one hand of the mother and father puppets while their arms were wrapped around Sasori in a hug.

Chiyo smiles at the sight. "Well that got you." Sakura looks at Sasori curiously. "Well, that did… As a reward, I have a spy in Orochimaru's ranks that I'm supposed to be meeting up with in 10 days at the Tenchi Bridge. You might be able to get some information out of him." Upon saying that, all of the air that was in his body came out in a rough exhale.

Sakura, Neji, and Chiyo take a look at Sasori cautiously. Neji takes a look with his byakugan and sees no chakra flow. "He's dead. I see no chakra flowing through him." Sakura breathes a sigh of relief. "I know our enemy is down, but shouldn't we head out to the others?" Chiyo nods and they leave the cave.

Back with the others, Deidara comes out thinking "I thought that suicide bombing clone would work. Oh well. With all the backup, I know I'm going to get my ass handed to me." He tries to tip-toe away a few minutes later to be discovered by Chiyo, Neji and Sakura. "Well this means that Sasori is dead." Neji uses the 8 trigrams air palm to force Deidara into the open. The others would surround him as Sakura and Chiyo would walk over to Kakashi and Naruto; who were with Einjeru and Gaara.

Naruto was the first to speak saying, "Sakura! You need to help!" Sakura nods in understanding and gets to work on Gaara to see if he's dead or not. It took a few minutes before Sakura shook her head. "So it's true… If the tailed beast is extracted, the jinchuuriki… dies." Chiyo puts her head down. "This was my fault. Us old people stuck in the old ways caused this mess. However, there's one way to mend the mistakes I've caused."

Chiyo kneels down next to Sakura and weaves some signs. "You should go check your teammate. She seems in pretty bad shape." Chiyo's hands glow blue as she puts her hands to Gaara's stomach. She thinks to herself "Everything that I screwed up can be fixed… With this generation… right Ebizo?"

Sakura comes over to Einjeru and checks her breathing. Einjeru's breathing seemed a little on the heavy side which caused Sakura to immediately go into diagnostic mode. Some explosions rang off in the background. Naruto sends clones to join the group with a rasengan at the ready, leaving him with Chiyo and Sakura if they needed him.

Kakashi saw another giant explosion coming their way with Guy, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Sasuke, and Shirobuki trying to get out of it. Shirobuki and Neji start to think "We're not going to get out of it in time." Kakashi focused once more thinking to himself, "This is going to put me in the hospital for a while, but it's better than my comrades getting burnt to a crisp."

Guy's squad plus Shirobuki and Sasuke fell to the ground and looked back to see the explosion disappearing. Kakashi ended up having to grab his eye in pain. All of them came over to Kakashi in relief. Guy wrapped his arm around Kakashi smiling. "Thank goodness for my eternal rival!"

Meanwhile, Sakura managed to get Einjeru to become stable enough for transport back to the sand village. Chiyo's chakra began to flicker. She thinks "Damn it. Due to my age, I don't have enough chakra to give him." Naruto notices the flicker and asks if there was any way for her to use his. Chiyo gives a small smile and says to him "Put your hands over mine."

As he does, the blue glow from her hands becomes almost blinding. Chiyo then says to Naruto, having known his plight as a jinchuuriki, "Us old people thought of you jinchuuriki as nothing more than weapons to use for the sake of our villages. Seeing you trying to save Gaara has gotten me to think otherwise. Also, your teammate has shown me that even though you guys are used to bolster up the military might of your village, you guys are human as well. I hope you can forgive us."

Naruto nods in acknowledgement. "It's nothing. I have a whole bunch of friends and they don't care. My best friend has been there for me since the academy days. She's known all about it and has never called me out for it. We, along with Kakashi sensei, Sakura and Sasuke make up the most badass squad in the Hidden Leaf. I guess I have you old people to thank for it."

Chiyo gave another smile thinking "At least I'll be dying with the knowledge that the future is in good hands." Naruto smiled back. Kurama then says " **Hey brat! Use a little bit of my chakra. The less chakra that she uses the better…** " Naruto in his mind then asks "What do you mean?"

Kurama looks down saying " **That jutsu that Chiyo is using is transferring her life into Gaara. She's going to die from this either way, but it will be less rough.** " Naruto wanted to stop, but in doing so causing their mission to fail. Chiyo sensed Naruto's worry and gave a smile. "I chose this as a means to mend my wrongs. As long as there are shinobi like you and your teammates, this world will survive."

The blue glow begins to fade and Chiyo loses consciousness. Naruto laid her straight as Gaara regained consciousness. The rest of the hidden sand shinobi surrounded them, Temari at the front shoving Naruto out of the way. He immediately went over to Sakura and Einjeru.

Einjeru's eyes twitched, showing that she was starting to wake. She groaned, feeling like she was trampled on. "What happened?" Naruto and Sakura didn't know how to answer since they came in after the fact. Sasuke walked up and said "You were caught up in that creeps' explosion style. Are you alright?" Einjeru sat up doing a self-check. "I seem to be. Just a few bumps and bruises and the fact that I feel like I've been hit by a carriage."

Sasuke smirks before going back to his normally stoic state. Naruto the takes Einjeru's hand and allows her to use him as a support. Sakura tries to object to Einjeru standing, but is ignored due to the kazekage making an appearance.

The kazekage immediately noticed Chiyo and bowed his head in respect. The rest of the hidden sand shinobi and the hidden leaf shinobi did the same. Einjeru thought to herself "She was a true shinobi, worthy of respect." Gaara looked at the kazekage, aka his father saying "The one-tail was extracted. Lady Chiyo must have performed that forbidden technique on me."

The kazekage looks at the two hidden leaf squads and says "You have returned Gaara to me which is technically what the request stated. The cost of it was Lady Chiyo and you guys having some injuries, but what mission isn't without sacrifice?" Einjeru muttered under her breath, "Lowly D-ranks…" The only hidden leaf genin there let out small chuckles before getting looks from the two sensei and the kazekage.

"You four were in the chunin exams 2 years ago right? To be able to hold your own on this kind of mission isn't common among genin. When you think about it, not even your common chunin would be able to handle a mission like taking back a shinobi from a terrorist organization such as the Akatsuki and survive it. For that I commend you guys and come next chunin exams nominate you guys. Now let's head back to the hidden sand so we can send a message to your hokage."

They nodded in acknowledgement and headed back to the sand. The following three days for message delivery involved rest, recovery and bond forging. Einjeru was confined to the hidden sand hospital with Kakashi. They had Sakura as their primary doctor meaning there was no room for fussing or they got injured even more.

Upon getting confirmation back, the hidden leaf shinobi were ready to move. Kakashi was being assisted by Guy and Einjeru (who argued about it saying she was capable of walking) assisted by Naruto were the first to walk out the village but were eventually passed by their squad. Everyone had forgotten about Shirobuki which worked out for Naruto and Einjeru.

Shirobuki came up to them looking like a white wolf. Einjeru smiled at him and Naruto set her on Shirobuki. Einjeru held on to Shirobuki's neck as they walked next to Guy and Kakashi. Guy eventually yelled, throwing Kakashi into the air and catching him on his back.

Both squads looked at the two in disgust. They all had the same simultaneous thought, "Grown men and piggy-back? It's so wrong…" They hear Charge play out of nowhere which made it worse. Kakashi couldn't speak due to being so out of it. Einjeru buried her face in Shirobuki's fur to hide her embarrassment and shame.

Shirobuki in his mind says "My kami son… Have you really stooped that low?" He flashed to the front with the others causing them to ask where the white wolf came from. Einjeru answered saying "It's Shirobuki. We are related, so it's no surprise that he can turn into a wolf."

Before anyone realized it, Guy was running up to them yelling "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Shirobuki decided to check his limits and basically became a white flash with Einjeru holding on for dear life. "Shiro! Slow down! Did you forget you have a passenger?! SHIRO!" Shirobuki laughed at his granddaughter and caught up to Guy.

Guy smiles at the fact that Shirobuki and Einjeru managed to keep up. The others took their time to catch up. It then became a race to the village between Guy and Kakashi; Shirobuki and Einjeru; and Rock Lee. It took them just under 3 days to get back to the leaf village.


	18. Chapter 18

Spies and Family Bonds Part 1

At the village gate sat Izumo and Kotetsu. They learned from past experience not to judge a book by its cover. However, when a dust cloud and a white blur come speeding towards your village, you get to be a little skeptical. Guy with Kakashi and a white wolf with Einjeru got in front of them. They ran out of the booth to see Kakashi and Einjeru out of it. Another dust cloud comes up behind them and they see Rock Lee.

Einjeru gave an off laughter and the look in her eyes was blank. "Kami needs to take away your powers for day Shiro. I told you to slow down…" Kakashi was out of it all together. Neji, Tenten, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto come up. Rock Lee is crying about how he came in 5th place while everyone is trying to catch their breath. Einjeru cried anime tears _wanting_ to go to the hospital. "Sakura! Please, oh please take me to the hospital!"

Sakura was surprised and did an exceptional job of hiding it. Guy in his overly boisterous manner started walking towards the hokage tower. "Let's go check in with Lady Tsunade." Einjeru was ready to cry anime tears of misery until Sakura intervened. "Uh…Guy sensei? I think Einjeru and Kakashi should go to the hospital first." Guy looked on his back and sweat-dropped in embarrassment.

"That's right! First stop: the hospital. Then the hokage!" He starts walking towards the hospital, and Shirobuki stayed with Sakura upon Einjeru's request. Einjeru starts talking with Sakura saying "I only want you, Lady Shizune or Lady Tsunade checking on me… Reasons you already know of." Sakura nods in understanding. "I'm sure, Lady Tsunade is already aware of that; but don't you think it would be better if someone else was watching as well?"

Einjeru shook her head. "No. No one else knows the Hatake clan traits or my particular disposition. Lord Third made sure that Lady Tsunade got the rundown on it. For my safety, it can't be divulged in the open. The village would treat me just as badly as Naruto." She gripped Shirobuki's fur so tight that he yelped in pain. "Einjeru, I know it hurts thinking about the pains you and Naruto went through, but you're hurting me."

Einjeru released her grip and leaned on Shirobuki's neck in an exhausted fashion. Sakura looks at Einjeru curiously due to the fact that she had never seen her so vulnerable before. "I see. I'll make sure that no one else checks on you." Einjeru breathes heavily and says "You'd think I'd have learned my lesson about charging in carelessly after my arms and legs were broken. Nope. I had to get caught in an explosion… Even though I have been resting for over three days, everything still hurts."

Sakura nods and smiles deciding to play with Einjeru a little bit. "It seems like you and Naruto switched brains." Einjeru was slightly appalled by that but due to her condition, she didn't act on it. "You're so mean…" She yawns, her eyes drooping. Sasuke and Naruto smile, seeing their teammate act so wacky.

Sakura checked Einjeru and Kakashi's vital signs to make sure that they wouldn't go into shock while the mission de-brief went on. As she laid in the bed, Einjeru felt around for the purple book that Jiriaya graced her with. " _The Lonely Demons_ huh? Looks interesting Master Jiriaya."

Kakashi's lone eye drifted over to Einjeru who wanted to read but yawned again. "As much as I want to read this, I'm too tired to do so. I'm sorry that I can't do so sooner." Kakashi gave a smile, saying, "Rest Einjeru. You'll recover faster if you do." By the time the statement was out of his mouth, Einjeru was snoring.

In the hokage office, Lord Third sat with Tsunade hearing the remainder of the two squads out about the recent mission. Sasuke explained about what happened with Einjeru and the explosion. Sakura explained about Chiyo and some of Sasori. Naruto mentioned the death and revival of Gaara. Team Guy explained the depths of how everything was dealt with.

Tsunade sighed in resignation. "Well some of the holes I'll have to fill by asking Einjeru and Kakashi their selves. The mission is technically a success because Gaara was returned to the Sand and they haven't complained. I was surprised when the Kazekage was recommending a field promotion for the members of Team Kakashi. However, I need you guys to perform in the chunin exams. I've been hearing some things from Jiriaya and his spy network."

Naruto nods and says "Besides the Akatsuki right?" Tsunade nods saying "The Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud are considering an invasion into the land of fire. We need to show them that our ninja can fight. I'm also pretty sure the Hidden Cloud might try and go after you guys and Einjeru because of the fact that you guys are strong. Particular reasons you guys already know of."

Naruto nods and asks if he could be excused to train. Tsunade then says "You don't want to sit with Einjeru?" Naruto shook his head. "She's probably sleeping right now and Kakashi sensei is also my landlord so I see him regardless." Tsunade nods and looks at Sakura for any more information. Sakura nods and says "I need to tell you this without the squads in here, aside from Neji."

Naruto was the first one out of the office, followed by Sasuke, Lee, Tenten and Guy. Tsunade looks at Sakura and Neji, who asked "Is this about the information regarding the spy?" Sakura nods and says "Sasori told us about a spy he had in Orochimaru's ranks and how he's supposed to meet him in 4 days." Neji then said "It could be a trap for Naruto and/or a possibility that the spy would betray Sasori."

Tsunade nods in acknowledgement. "That is true, but I will be sending Team Kakashi with 2 substitutes for Einjeru and Kakashi. Part of the reason is because the council is afraid of Naruto going berserk on a mission. The second is because the two won't recover in time. You guys will be leaving as soon as I can get the two replacements."

Lord Third then says "You two can go now. I need to discuss something with Tsunade." Sakura and Neji gave curt bows and left the office post haste. Lord Third looks at Tsunade and says "Are you sure about the second replacement? I know Koharu and Homura were insistent." Tsunade gripped her fist tightly and said "I only did this to pacify them. I intend to have Einjeru's guardian go and keep an eye on the second one as well as on Naruto."

Lord Third acknowledged this with a smile. "I see, with the wood style, he would be able to restrain Naruto if something would go wrong. We should see what those two think about their replacements, though. Einjeru might not like hers." Tsunade smirks. "I'm willing to bet she'd growl at him the moment she smells him." They laughed thinking that it would be true.

Tenzo appeared in front of them, in ANBU uniform. "You requested me milady?" Lady Tsunade steeled her face immediately. "Team Kakashi is down their captain and one member. You are to be the captain in Kakashi's stead." Tenzo nodded. "Who's the down member if I may ask?" Lord Third fronted this one. "It's Einjeru. She was caught in an explosion created by one the enemies jutsu."

Even if it couldn't be seen, Tenzo's mouth dropped. "I see. Who's the second member?" Tsunade raised her hand and said "He was one of Danzo's devout followers. I want you to keep an eye on him and if he does something to jeopardize the mission or the leaf, detain or eliminate him!" Tenzo acknowledged it and said "Are you going to see Kakashi and Einjeru now?"

Tsunade shook her head saying "I have to debrief our other replacement, but you can go meet your team or see them on your own. I'm not going to stop you from seeing your little sister." Tenzo immediately got on the defensive saying "Sister? I don't see Einjeru like that!" Lord Third and Tsunade laughed at him. Tsunade finally got ahold of herself saying "I was kidding. Although I do know that Einjeru is precious to you. You've done a good job of looking over her while she was just starting out and while she was training. She looks up to you."

Tenzo nods while Tsunade says "Remove your mask. You're not going to need it for this mission. You can use your chosen name of Yamato as you've already met Naruto under that name." Lord Third smiles and says "I think I'll go visit the father-daughter duo. Whether they acknowledge it or not, they're very much alike."

Even though asleep, Einjeru sneezed. Kakashi let out a painful laugh saying in a labored tone, "Someone must be talking about you kid." He then sneezed himself. "Hmmm… Me as well huh?" Sakura came and noticed Einjeru asleep. "How are you two? Are you feeling anything? Any pain?"

Kakashi's eye went over to Sakura as he replied. "Obviously Einjeru is fine. She was just exhausted and still recovering from her burns. I'm the same as when we got here. Everything feels stiff, it hurts just to talk and I can't move."

In the village, Naruto and Sasuke parted ways to head to their homes and relax. Naruto however ran into Shikamaru and Choji. They walked through the village, and Naruto ran through the latest mission exploits. Shikamaru nods and Choji is all into the details. "One question, where's Einjeru now?" Shikamaru sighs in a failed attempt of boredom. "What a drag. She's in the hospital. She's probably covered in scar tissue."

Naruto gives a grin saying "Knowing her, she's probably resting. She's had some serious bags under her eyes lately. I'd assume she's had some serious insomnia or something." Shikamaru agrees with Naruto on that. "That is true. She's known to act weird without rest."

Choji was munching away on some chips. "Om nom nom nom nom nom! We can go sit with her and see if she wakes, right?" Shikamaru, in his ultimate wisdom replied, "We can, but we have a mission…" At that moment, an ink tiger started attacking them. "What the?!" Shikamaru immediately grabbed a kunai and slashed at them. With the splattering of ink, a male about their age could be spotted on the roof in front of them.

Naruto immediately charged towards the boy for him to draw two more tigers and having them attack. Shikamaru held the tigers in place, allowing Choji to squish them back into ink. "Go get 'em Naruto! We'll handle these ink things." Two more tigers had already moved into Shikamaru's shadows. The shadows holding those tigers in place squeezed them, making them explode into ink.

Naruto jumped up on the roof with a kunai sliding out of his sleeve. "Why'd you attack us like that?!" The male in question pulled out a standard ANBU katana and parried Naruto's kunai saying "You'll see soon enough Naruto." He disappeared in an ink shunshin. Naruto stood there confused.

Shikamaru and Choji came up with confused expressions on their faces. Shikamaru was ready to go into his thinking pose. "Do you know that guy Naruto? He seemed to have known your name and face well." Naruto shook his head saying "Everyone in this village knows me… I hate the reason why though." He rubbed his stomach thinking "Kurama, I don't blame you one bit. It's the villagers."

Choji nods and says "I understand Naruto. You have friends and loved ones don't forget. Einjeru risks herself for you all the time." Shikamaru smiles saying "Exactly. She will risk everything for you." Naruto gives a chuckle and starts toward the hospital. "You guys want to see if she's awake before you head out?" Shikamaru nods with Choji already following.

At the same time, at a certain ramen stand that has been serving the Hidden Leaf for 2 generations already; a certain ANBU was ordering some ramen to bring to a certain bed-ridden kunoichi. Teuchi brings out the to-go order with a smile. "Thanks for waiting! Is this for Einjeru? I've heard she was bed-ridden." He got a nod in return. Yamato sighed as well. "It looks like I've done a poor job of adjusting her decisions on missions."

Ayame smiles saying "Naruto and Einjeru are woven from the same cloth. Hard-headed, never giving up. She has her fathers' brains for jutsu, but her mothers' impulses. What's your name? I've never seen you around." In reply, he said "My name is Yamato. By the way, how'd you guess this was for Einjeru?" Teuchi fronted that saying "That is her usual order to specs. I know all my regulars' favorites."

Yamato smiles saying "She'll probably be complaining that she's hungry soon. I better take this to her." Ayame nods. "Come again soon!" He immediately comes over to the hospital and signs in. The nurse gives the usual spiel about food for patients and Yamato sighs, knowing that this argument was going to end in an angry hokage due to the fact that they know Einjeru doesn't need the hospital food and refuses to eat it anyway.

30 minutes later, Yamato's prediction came true. Tsunade bit the nurses head off and allowed Yamato to go upstairs. He came in the room to see Kakashi laying in the bed closest to the door and Einjeru closer to the window. Her nose twitched, telling Yamato that she smelled the ramen. Her eyes twitched, showing the signs of waking up. "I smell… Ramen…" Her eyes open and zoom over to him. "Senpai! Gimme! Gimme the ramen!"

Kakashi looks over at Yamato and then over to the hyper person in the bed. "You had to bring her favorite food, didn't you?" Yamato chuckled sheepishly saying "You know she starves herself in here. I had to bring her something." Kakashi let out a slow exhale. "You couldn't break that habit?" Yamato shook his head saying that she refused to eat bland food.

Einjeru started whining just before her stomach gave a big growl. "Hungry… so hungry…" Yamato brings over the side table and sets the ramen down on it. She tore into it like she hadn't eaten in days. Kakashi's eye drifted over to her as he said "You wanted to talk about something?"

Yamato immediately closed the door and put silencing seals on the room. Einjeru propped her pillow up saying "It has to do with why I freaked out. I can only tell you some things because my memory is a little broken when I try to remember it." Kakashi nodded and Yamato asked "Is this the time you lost control due to being kidnapped within that cave?" Einjeru nodded and explained things from her point of view that she remembered. Yamato filled in holes and gaps from where he came in.

Kakashi listened, but wondered what it had to do with the freak out. Einjeru stretched a little saying "The same demon that kidnapped me was the same presence that we felt at the Hidden Sand hospital. He… Wants me to use my unstable powers for some odd reason." His visible eye narrowed, as if planning to destroy the creep who attempts to harm his pup.

Yamato hears someone coming and takes down the seals with lightning precision. Three people come in and look at the ANBU parading around as a jonin, and the shinobi that lay in the two beds. Kakashi's eye drifted over to the three people as Yamato stands at attention.

One of the three looks at the two intently, his black hair framed around his face as if it his hiding his true intentions. 'So these two are Kakashi and Einjeru. They don't really look alike or act the same…' Einjeru who happened to be slurping her ramen heard his thought and looked at him intently. 'So? Who's the pale creep with the bangs. Kinda makes me think that he is actually a she with that frame.'

Tsunade comes out and breaks the ice. "Well, you've already met your replacement captain for Team Kakashi; now meet _your_ replacement Einjeru." Upon that being said, the air in the room got cold and a low growl started to build. 'This creep is _my_ replacement?!'

Kakashi felt the flare and used a trick he learned over the last two years to force Einjeru to calm down. Einjeru looked around feeling an impending feeling descend upon her. She felt the need for a hard swallow as her eyes drifted to Kakashi. 'Dad's chakra is freaking me out!' He smirked under his mask, knowing that the trick worked.

"Now that I've calmed you, will you please listen to what Lady Tsunade says. You can voice your dissent afterwards." Einjeru nodded almost immediately. 'Sure, whatever you say…' Tsunade continued saying "I anticipated her growling and snarling at him. To be honest, he's a terrible replacement for Einjeru, but I needed to pacify our council."

Einjeru grabs her pillow and places it on her legs to rest her head on. "Those retards wouldn't know teamwork if it hit them in their faces. They don't understand that different people create different chemistry, and our team has the best chemistry… even if it didn't look like it at first." Yamato intervened saying "Unfortunately Team Kakashi had to be sent on a mission because of a possible lead that was found by Sakura on your last mission. The deadline was well before you two are due to recover."

Yamato got nothing but silence out of her as he saw her cuddling a pillow like a kid. "I know you're not just sitting here quietly and accepting this." As soon as that rung out, the swirling of water came from another room and the faint patter of footsteps came into the room. The Einjeru that sat in the bed disappeared leaving the other one to say, "I may have burns and scars on my face, but it doesn't mean I'm an invalid. I'm perfectly capable of walking around, running and performing the physically demanding activities that is required of us as shinobi."

Tsunade looks at her and says "Your healing factor is almost as strong as Naruto's, but it doesn't do anything for your scarring. You need to remain here while I remove the scar tissue." Einjeru climbs back on the bed after taking a look at the boy. "What's your name?" The boy gave the fakest smile known to shinobi and demon kind. "My name is Sai. It'll be wonderful to get to know your team."

Einjeru wanted to cringe at how hard Sai was trying. "First of all, lose the fake smile… You're not fooling anyone. Second, I can practically tell from your body language that you're not being sincere, so let's be honest, shall we?" Sai smirked at her. 'She's impressive. Lord Danzo wasn't kidding when he said she inherited her fathers' abilities, deductive or not.'

Lord Third finally said something, his voice gruff with an authoritative nature, "That is enough Einjeru. He is your replacement whether you like it or not." She immediately flinched at the tone. "Yes Lord Third. I apologize." Tsunade then said "Yamato and Sai, the rest of Team Kakashi will meet you at the main gate in one hour. I suggest you two start making your way there."

Kakashi ended up looking at the ceiling. 'I'm good at calming her, but not keeping her in her place.' Tsunade smiled saying "I guess I lost my bet Sarutobi sensei, but we expected her to react someway." Lord Third nods and says to her "I can see she's getting a little stir crazy. Can't we let her out?"

Tsunade gave a firm shake of her head. "I'm being lenient as is. She should be on the other side of the hospital in the burn unit. However, due to our circumstances I'm keeping her in the ICU with Kakashi." Einjeru groans, putting her hands to the bandaged part of her face. "I swear, I'll be tempted to paint these walls with how frequently I visit the hospital."

The sliding door opened revealing a blonde haired, blue eyed knucklehead with a pineapple shaped ponytail wearing lazy bum and a chubby guy with spiky hair. The resident blonde yelled out saying "Granny Tsunade! We were just attacked by a weirdo!" Einjeru looked at the three of them with a weird look. "Shikamaru? Choji? Naruto?"

They waved at her before Sai turned and smiled at them saying, "Hello. It's wonderful to officially meet. My name is Sai." Naruto immediately glared at him saying "How dare you greet us so casually after attacking us the way you did?!" The air in the room went cold again and everyone felt like blood was running down their backs.

As some words were spoken by the resident bed-ridden kunoichi, a hiss and growl were heard under them. Her head twisted in Sai's direction, body poised to strike him in the possibility of the answer being what she was expecting. "You attacked my friends?" Yamato snapped out of the fear from her Killing Intent and restrained her.

"Let me go!" She struggled against the wood as Sai immediately got a smirk on his face. "Yes, I did. I wanted to test myself against those in my age group." Immediately a snarl was heard and two tails were visible. Kakashi forced himself into a sitting position, not caring that the sheet fell off. "Einjeru! Relax!"

Their chakras bounced off of each other and Einjeru looked at him. Upon seeing his face, she went stupid. "F-f-f-face." Kakashi looked at her weird and looked at everyone. Everyone gawked at him. Naruto had the same reaction as Einjeru. "K-K-Kakashi sensei's f-f-face." Sakura walked in and became stupefied.

The constriction of the wood slacked slightly, allowing Einjeru to jump at Sai while everyone's guard was down. Before anyone noticed, Sai was through a wall and Einjeru stood, her fist still extended. Everyone looked at her and sighed. Sakura then pulled Einjeru by the ear and slammed her on her bed. Everyone flinched upon hearing the slam. "You're supposed to be resting Einjeru!"

Einjeru cowered in fear, crawling under the sheets, facing the window. Yamato and Kakashi look at the two thinking the exact same thing. 'What crazy strength.' Sasuke came in and didn't notice Kakashi at all. "Don't we have a mission to start on?" Yamato looked at the time and nods. "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Sai follow me." They followed without question, leaving the two hokage and two Hatake in the room.

Lord Third sighed saying to Tsunade, "I guess nothing has changed. Einjeru has gotten stronger, sure, but her people skills are sorely lacking." Tsunade's fist tightened. "If I had been allowed to finish, I would have been able to say my piece, but it doesn't look like Einjeru is listening to anyone now." They leave the room, leaving the father-daughter duo in peace.

"Damn it Einjeru. Do you always have to beat on people that you don't like?" Kakashi got a huff of annoyance in return from the only other person in the room. "No one harms my mate and gets off scratch-free. He ought to be lucky I didn't break any of his bones, or let Akuma out."

His eye drifted over to her as if asking who Akuma is. She looked at him and got a sheepish look on her face. "Oh! Akuma is who you refer to as my dark side." Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly as she continued. "She's like a second personality that takes over when I'm injured, but actually she's a lot more. We communicate in my mind."

Kakashi lays back and in moment of fatherly pride, gave a smile, not hidden behind his mask. "I'm glad that you can control that ability. What is she like, if it's safe to ask?" Einjeru didn't say anything as a person poofed into existence wearing a pink shirt with a black stripe and white pants. "Yo. Why'd you bring me out here?"

A faint hint of a smirk appeared on Einjeru's face as the lone male of the room looks at the Einjeru look alike, seeing numerous differences. Not only was the greeting and clothes different, but instead of black spiky hair with silver streaks, she has long, flowing silver hair with black streaks. The girl felt like Kakashi was looking through her clothes for some odd reason. "Would you stop looking at me like that? I kind of feel violated by my own father while you do that…"

Kakashi instantly averted his eye with that awkward thought stuck in his mind. Einjeru chuckled saying "She's quite self-conscious. Also… We're twins." Akuma grabbed a chair, knowing that explanations were in order. "Ever heard of vanishing twin syndrome? It's like the one twin dying and the other kind of 'eats' the remains. In our case, our souls merged into one and gave Einjeru: the 'dominant' twin the extra chakra reserves."

Kakashi acknowledges the information, and tries to digest it. "Ok then question. What would happen if you guys remained separated, via the Shadow Clone Jutsu? Will you go down to having average reserves?" Akuma shrugged, for they never considered it. Einjeru stretched, having thought about it for the last six months of training. "I've been thinking about that myself. In all honesty, with how much you had trained me to build up my reserves due to the fact that I was a girl, I had thought that the excess chakra was natural. I never considered the fact that I had reserves of two people until I looked into this."

Akuma shrugged in an uncaring fashion. Her mind had no interest on the conversation at all, and was running on auto-pilot. "It's not like it's impossible to rebuild the reserve, and if it came down to it, we already have some of the nine-tails chakra lying dormant inside of us. If we really wanted to, we could capitalize on it and integrate it into our reserves."

Kakashi didn't like the idea of the nine-tails influence on his child _ren_ , but there wasn't a way to just purge the chakra from them. "I would appreciate if we didn't rely on that." Einjeru's eyes drifted around in a lazy fashion, a nonverbal tick to show her annoyance at something. "This chakra is purified. You wouldn't have to worry about _Kurama's_ influence. If you really want to see how, you should try to train with Naruto sometime…"

The inflection of the words really hurt Kakashi, even if he didn't show it. Akuma, having known from the moment that the eyes drifted that something like that would come out. "Einjeru, you know better than anyone how dad feels regarding that topic. That event shook the village to its knees and you're talking so nonchalantly about it, as if it didn't affect dad."

"Shut up. You don't think that I don't know?! He drilled it into my head how traumatizing it was and how he didn't want to lose me! However, no one knew that I would be the one who'd have to watch over any and all demons including Kurama! Of course, I'm talking nonchalantly about because I have no choice! The last two years, I have had no break from hearing it and you know it, so don't try and preach because you went through the same pain I did! The beatings from mom. From Grandpa. From Tenzo! You know I endured through them just so I could come back stronger. Every time I tried to seclude myself into my head, you never let me! Call me inhumane for being nonchalant about something like this, but I can't pretend that my role in life isn't important. I can't pretend that all those comments made about Naruto and Kurama don't affect me… They hurt… Worse than a kunai or a shuriken, but I endure it, just to see Naruto and my other teammates smiling and alive. All my rash decisions, were just a farce that I hide behind. I must have done a hell of a job if not even you couldn't see it…"

Akuma instantly averted her eyes in shame. She knew that Einjeru was hiding herself in herself, but didn't want to think she was right. Over the last two years, Akuma wanted to think they were bonding. Slowly, but surely bonding. "I saw… I just didn't want to think that you'd hide inside yourself like that. I didn't want you to push me away and lock me back the way you had when we first came into contact with each other, so I kept my distance when it came to your farces. Hoping that you would open up like mom and grandpa forced you to. We hoped you'd come out on your own instead of it getting to this point where you'd throw yourself all in like dad back in the past."

Kakashi laid under his sheets quietly, not showing the effect of Einjeru's words. 'You're right Einjeru… I don't know. The pains of living with a burden like yours. Protecting the village from a world that most of anyone knows nothing about. The times that you needed me most, I wasn't around. The least I could do is be there now, but you have to let me. Don't push away those close to you just because of me. I did that and I felt the truest of despairs. Had I not pushed away your mother, she'd probably still be here, and you wouldn't feel this pain… Maybe Minato sensei and Kushina sensei would be here to give guidance too…'

Akuma finished her spiel, somehow emotionally exhausted. She looks over at Kakashi, seeing an emotionless look in his eye. With the lack of emotion, Akuma feared the worst and a shiver made its' way up her spinal cord to the brain which then sent electrical impulses with the same shiver to the rest of her body while inadvertently causing goosebumps. 'Dad… What are you thinking?'

Einjeru, also exhausted, had crawled under her covers to try and warm herself up. "You can stay out if you want Akuma... I won't force you..." Her words as she said them started to slur and mush together as her eyes dropped, signifying sleep. 'I'm sorry, but maybe I need to be selfish for now. I can't keep going around saying that I'm okay and a perfect kunoichi all the time. In all honesty… I was broken within the last couple of years, my mask was shattered into a billion pieces. I scrounge up a new one to see it's cracking. I need time.'

Akuma nods and sits with Kakashi. "Say dad. I'm sure Einjeru didn't mean it. I think it's just cabin fever talking. Either way… Can we just talk?" Kakashi's eye went over to Akuma as if wanting to ask something desperately. "Were you like her voice of reason inside of her head?" He got a chuckle in return as Akuma sheepishly scratched her head. "Kind of, but sometimes she doesn't listen. She does know, but she chooses not to act on it." Kakashi decides that when he's strong enough that he'd test their limits while separated.

Shizune comes in the room to see Akuma, wondering how she got in and where she came from. The silence in the room made tensions so thick that it could be cut with kunai. Akuma finally decided to break the tension. "You're Shizune right? Is there any way you could summon Lady Tsunade so we could discuss this?" Kakashi nods as if silently saying there's no threat.

As if a signal was set off, three ANBU rushed to the hokages office and let her know that her presence was needed at the hospital. Shizune started to ask questions, but Akuma shook her head. "When Lady Hokage is here, I'll answer everything. I don't want to have to repeat myself."

Meanwhile, Team Kakashi under the leadership of Yamato was taking a detour to get to know each other. Yamato started off with the traditional greeting and explained everything. "Hello. I'm your substitute captain. My name is Yamato. You guys may know each other in some fashion, but I want to know you while I lead, so introduce yourselves."

Naruto, albeit grudgingly, started the introductions. "Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen and hanging out with my friends. I don't like being attacked by people for random reasons." Sasuke shrugs without a grunt, continuing the introductions. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I don't really care for sweets, but I like tomatoes." The introduction torch was passed to Sakura who wanted to pummel Sai for an inappropriate comment that he made when they just got outside the village. "Sakura Haruno. I don't really care for anything except my friends. I enjoy my role as a medic and will make sure that nothing happens to my teammates… Even if they deserve it."

Sai gave his traditional smile saying "My name is Sai. I like drawing. I hope we can get along as a team." Yamato gives a smile thinking some progress had been made with breaking the ice. Naruto groans saying "Captain Yamato why did I have to introduce myself? I met you before when we were walking back to the leaf and Sai already knew me." Yamato gave a creepy look saying "It's sign of respect even though we've met informally. Besides, I never met Sakura or Sasuke."

Naruto jumped seeing the creepy look, thinking 'Boy… I see how he keeps Einjeru in check.' Yamato goes back to his cherry demeanor saying "We'll go to a hot springs town to solidify our bond as a team. After we get there can we talk about our intel and create a game plan." Sakura nods while Sai gets another inappropriate thought.

Back in the Leaf, more specifically the hospital, filled with the scent of antiseptic and bacitracin-like substances, the female medical ninja in charge of the village was walking to the Intensive Care Unit to see what the ANBU were flipping out about. The sliding door opened, allowing her to see an apprehensive Shizune, a girl dressed in pink; sitting in a chair, Kakashi laying there as if nothing was happening and Einjeru sleeping.

The girl then said "Now that Lady Hokage is here, I can explain what I am and why I'm here. First things first, my name is Akuma. I'm Einjeru's twin more or less." Kakashi sat up saying "These two are a case of vanishing twin syndrome if I heard them right. Akuma's the reason that Einjeru's chakra reserve was that of two people." Tsunade stood there thinking 'Vanishing Twin Syndrome? Einjeru ate this girl in the womb?' Akuma, being blessed with the same abilities as Einjeru (obviously,) nodded. "I guess you could say that she ate me, but our souls' kind of merged into one being. However, if we wanted to, we could remain separated and rebuild the reserves that were lost from the separation."

Tsunade sighed as the Hatake duo that gave her problems before just became a trio. 'Well this would make assigning teams easier because with Shirobuki around, I could just make a team out of him, Einjeru and Akuma if she decides to stick around with Tenzo as their captain.' A smile starts to appear on her face as she looks at Akuma. "Have you thought about sticking around?"

Akuma shook her head. "I never thought about it, I was mostly in Einjeru's head to keep her sane, especially during the training. Why do you ask?" Shizune's head turns to Tsunade. Tsunade smiles bigger, knowing this might work in her favor. "Well I've been trying to think of a way to ween Team Kakashi into the three-man team they were supposed to be. I think you and Shirobuki are keys in that. That's why I'm asking."

Akuma became the one with the apprehensive look. "I'm willing to play ball, but don't need permission from the captain and team member of the team you're breaking apart?" Tsunade gave a chuckle. "I assign the teams Akuma, and where they go. The two in the beds technically have no say in the matter." Kakashi leans on the propped pillow. "She's right. The only reason that Einjeru remained under me is for her safety."

Everyone got a headshake from Akuma. "That's why she lashes out. Why she gets huffy and puffy. Why she argues. No one seems to ask her how she feels. She bottles it up because she feels she has no say in the decisions made about her or in _front_ of her. Even if she's sleep, she can hear everything we say. She's sixteen and capable of handling herself, as demonstrated when she put Sai through the wall earlier."

Kakashi sighs, wondering how Akuma was such a debater considering she was just poofed into existence. "Even if she's strong enough to put someone through a wall, she still got him by surprise." Akuma smirked, knowing what Kakashi was doing. "You're going to lose this debate dad; just from this one statement. A shinobi is supposed to get their opponent by surprise. You're supposed to keep your opponent guessing."

Tsunade chuckled under her breath, looking at the two trying to debate whether or not the argument is valid. Shizune looked at the silver and black haired girl. "She definitely has the wits." Tsunade nods and looks at the time. "It's almost time for Einjeru's treatment."


	19. Chapter 19

Spies and Family Bonds Part 2

Back with Team Kakashi at the hot springs; Sakura settles into the female side of the springs just before hearing an obnoxious outburst from the male side. "Are you serious?! Is that all you can talk about you pervert?!" Sakura giggled upon recognizing the voice, but wondered who he could be talking to. She then heard the proclaimed cool voice talking. "Why are you so annoying, you loser." And there's the non-caring voice of the filler for Einjeru, "It looks like both of you have something to compensate for." Upon hearing that, Sakura felt a tick mark form on her forehead. 'Cha! I'll destroy Sai for saying that!'

Yamato entered the guys' side of the spring, ready to face-palm. "You three need to stop." Naruto pointed his finger at Sai in an angry fashion. "It's not my fault that Sai is such a pervert!" Sasuke shakes his head. "I'm out of here." His face was turning an unhealthy shade of red. Yamato sighed thinking "Good grief. I wonder how things would be if Einjeru were here."

Einjeru gave a sneeze in her sleep, causing her eyes to twitch and momentarily open to see Tsunade, Lord Third, Shizune, Akuma and Kakashi. Her eyebrows furled curiously and she shook her head. "It's too soon for my treatment…" Tsunade chuckled saying "Not really. It's been a few hours since that fiasco earlier." She comes over to Einjeru and starts removing the bandages.

"At this rate, you should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow. Your scarring is almost non-existant." Einjeru silently nods and lets Tsunade do her job. Shizune marks the chart that the treatment cycle has been taken care of. The green chakra that glowed in Tsunade's hands fascinated Akuma as she sat there watching everything.

Shizune noticed Akuma gawking and cleared her throat. "Does this interest you?" A nod was all Shizune got in return as Akuma watched with her mouth open. As soon as the glow died down, Tsunade looked at Akuma and smiled. "Would you like to learn some basics?"

Akuma noticed her mouth hanging and shook herself out of her fascinated trance. "I would be honored to learn from you two." Shizune was relieved that someone appreciated her as well as Tsunade. "I could start her off milady. Since Shirobuki is off on business and Einjeru is still in recovery, I could start her off on the basics until Team Kakashi returns and Yamato takes the reins of the three of them."

Tsunade nods and looks at Einjeru. "I've decided to make you, Akuma and Shirobuki a three-man squad under Yamato." Nothing but a shrug. No grunts, growls or anything of the sort. "Okay." Akuma was surprised. "Einjeru? You okay?" Einjeru looked at Akuma and smiled.

"Of course, I am. Why do you ask a silly question?" Akuma shook her head. "I guess because you would get defiant on a typical basis." Einjeru smiles. "True, but I don't mind this team up because it's family. If it was Sai, then I would be raising a stink." Kakashi buts in at this point. "Also, I think you know that complaining won't help you, so you've learned to accept it and roll with the punches."

Einjeru sighed. "Maybe… But at the same time, I am being honest about being with family. Grandpa would probably say the same thing… *sigh* I want to know something though. Why put three clan members together that have similar abilities? I thought when forming squads, they were formed with the idea of balance in mind."

Lord Third chuckles. "That's what we wanted the academy instructors to think. When forming the new squads, we tend to look at how the older ones performed. Take Team Kakashi for instance. You have Sasuke, a genius in his own right; Naruto, a goofball but always tries his best; and Sakura, the average female member of the squad…"

Kakashi continued from there. "Our current squad is similar to the old Team Minato, which I was part of. I was the genius, Obito was the fool and one of my best friends, and… Rin… She was the medic ninja…" Lord Third then made another example. "Then you have squad 10 which has, Shikamaru, Choji and Ino. The three of them are descendants of clans who have used their techniques in collaboration. Their parents have forged a legacy that will live on for generations. It is a rarity when three shinobi from the same clan are formed into a squad, but sometimes it works out for the best."

Einjeru gripped the sheet. "What squad was my mom in?" Kakashi looked at Lord Third. Lord Third somehow saw that question coming. "Due to the circumstances of the time, your mother was under an apprenticeship. A lot of people knew what she was and didn't want much to do with her. She was strong and powerful, and with that, fear is bound to brew."

The sheets were being gripped so hard that Einjeru's hands started to bleed. Her eyes were looking at the now bloodied sheets as she started to think. 'All that time while I was training… The avoided questions and the "Ask Lord Third." It makes sense.' She had a sharp look in her eyes, looking back at Lord Third. "Who was the master?"

The tone in her voice left little room for avoiding the question, and Lord Third, nor anyone in that room would be able to restrain an upset demoness. Kakashi gave that same sharp look to Einjeru. "Einjeru, watch your tone." Lord Third knew that this wouldn't end well if a battle of wills broke out between the two. When in full on battle, Kakashi leaves even his subordinates shitting their pants.

Lord Third gave a grandfatherly smile in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "His name was unusual, like yours Einjeru. I don't remember it off the top of my head, but everything is on file if you're willing to take a walk with me." A quick glance at Tsunade to see a nod. The bloodied sheets were thrown off as Einjeru ran to get dressed.

Tsunade and Shizune left with Akuma in tow. Kakashi thought that he might be able to get some actual rest without his headstrong daughter there having loud outbursts in her sleep, and the other one that he's just getting to know.

In the village proper, Einjeru walked alongside Lord Third with a silence that would unnerve the most knowledgeable ninja. He breaks the ice. "I know you're upset that your heritage was kept from you, but we had no choice. It was either protect you by hiding it or risk you having a very short life without the slightest chance of allowing you to grow. As I have said before, everyone in this village is my family, and I will protect it the best way I know how. I won't apologize for the way I did that, but you must grow up."

"It's not about growing up right now, it's about questions and answers Lord Third. My mom won't answer my questions so you have to. As I progressed, mom started getting nervous because she never finished her training and she won't mention her master. I don't like being left to my own devices. All the training that I've done under dad, Guy sensei and Tenzo here in the village never prepared me for training with mom. I went on to learn everything she knew and some. Unfortunately, I feel something more powerful inside, yet no one can tell me what it is because they don't know. So now I'm forced to dig around and find the answers. I need to know this and figure out how to proceed."

Back with Team Kakashi, they were on the road heading towards Tenchi bridge, when Yamato stopped them to explain the mission. "Alright, this mission is intelligence/capture and interrogate. The person of interest is a spy under Sasori's control who was sent to Orochimaru to send intel back. As of 7 days ago, there was 10 days until they were supposed to meet. Now that is almost over with 3 days to go until the meet and 2 more days of travelling. That leaves us with one day to run simulated practices and 'what-if's.' Do I have any questions that need to answer?"

Naruto had his face scrunched up in thought. "If that's the case, why send us? We're an attack squad." Sakura was wondering why Naruto would ask such a question. Sasuke nods in agreement. "Naruto is right. However, a ninja needs to know how to take on all types of missions." Sai puts another fake smile. "Of course, but you wouldn't know that because you had the lowest scores in the academy. All that Einjeru could help you with was your fighting style which is still least to be desired."

Back in the hidden leaf, Einjeru sneezed but paid no mind to it.

Naruto got red in the face. "Sai… You are never to say anything about Einjeru like that. She is more a part of this squad than you'll ever be." He let out a little killing intent. "If you ever say anything like that again, I'll kill you." His eyes turned red which showed he wasn't kidding. A little bit of Kurama's chakra was laced in to seal the deal. Sakura put her arm on Naruto's shoulder and Sasuke stood by them. "You really don't understand what Einjeru means to this team, do you Sai?"

Yamato sighed, thinking about what just happened. 'I figured in-fighting would happen, but I never would have thought that Naruto would release the nine… err… Kurama's chakra in a focused manner like that.' He broke up the four of them immediately before a major fight could begin.

Sai wasn't fazed by Naruto's killing intent at all. He looked like he didn't notice Naruto's eyes. Sakura knew the chakra wasn't only Naruto's from the retrieval of Sasuke. Sasuke with sharingan awake, smirked in an impressed manner. "I know why Naruto and I were paired off together now. It wasn't because of our grades, it was our abilities. Either way, I'd appreciate if you didn't talk about our sibling like that."

Everyone looked at Sasuke in astonishment. Naruto asked him to repeat the last sentence before smiling. Sakura smiled, knowing that Sasuke had softened up. "Sasuke is right. Team Kakashi is like a family. Even though Einjeru isn't here, she's the glue that keeps us together. Kakashi sensei is like a second father to us."

Yamato smiled thinking to himself. 'Senpai, you and Einjeru have brought Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura together in a way that could never be thought possible for a shinobi. Naruto and Sasuke more so due to their circumstances.'

Back in the Hidden Leaf, Kakashi sat up, recuperating from a sneeze. "Three times. I better not be coming down with a cold." The nurse smiled and gave him his IV. "You should be able to eat solid foods soon. You're recovering at such a remarkable pace." Kakashi thought the same thing, but felt a warmness inside. 'Anjera, are you helping me heal?' A fox came in and sat in his lap, smiling. "Still haven't gotten used to that sharingan have you? A head shake was all the fox got in return.

Einjeru sneezed for what felt like the fifth time while walking to the hokage tower. Lord Third took her to an area where only the hokage and the village counsel could go. "This area is where all shinobi records, including your mothers, are kept. From how many missions they've been on to who their sensei/captain is, everything is documented."

Einjeru was surprised at the sheer amount of shinobi files. Her and Lord Third got to an area of the room where only the hokage, past and present, could go. Lord Third made sure she was behind him as he bypassed the blood seal. "This part is where the royal bloodline files are kept after they take their place. Yours remains in the hokages office; in a specially sealed drawer."

They walked through the barrier to see 5 files with 5 different photos, one of them looking like Einjeru when she was younger. Einjeru looked at it with a weird look on her face. "Jeez, dad wasn't kidding. I did look a lot like mom when I was thirteen." Lord Third chuckled. "Yup, this one is your mother. She was very flashy when she started her journey, but the battle of Kanabi Bridge dulled it down with the loss of Obito. She didn't show it, but she was worried about your father at the time."

Einjeru looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" Lord Third waved his hand at the subject. "To be honest I'm not totally sure how falling in love works. I still love my wife even though she passed. You said you wanted to learn the name of your mothers' master, didn't you?" He got a nod. He opened the file which showed everything about Anjera that Einjeru never knew. She thought back to the time when Team Seven were in formative development and they tried for a second time to remove Kakashi's mask.

 _Flashback_

It was after another successful D-Rank and Team Seven stood in front of Kakashi, eager to hear what he had to say, just to deflate when they hear him say "With that being said, our mission is over. You're dismissed." Naruto being overabundant with energy cried out first. "We're done already? It's only 10 in the morning! Lately our missions have been so boring! When are we going to get an S-rank?"

Einjerus eyes widened at the request as Sasuke jumped on the argument. "S-rank? A loser like you?" Then Sakura jumped on to the band wagon, leaving Einjeru to gawk. Sakura glares at Naruto saying "What are you talking about? We're still genin!" Naruto goes on to complain that he wants more pizazz.

Before anyone else could say anything else, Kakashi stopped them. "There weren't any. You're dismissed." Einjeru felt something was off, but didn't voice her concerns because she sensed that Naruto was going to suggest that they go after Kakashi's mask again. Her eyes drifted down to the ground in thought.

As Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all agreed that this would be the perfect day to try and swipe the mask, Naruto said to look through photos. Einjeru decided to butt in. "Sorry guys… But all the photos that dad is in, he has a mask on. Even ones of him attempting to bathe me when I was six…" She paled as she admitted to the awkward time Kakashi had trying to bond with her. All of a sudden, she felt a familiar presence, and started to think. 'It feels like dad is near, but that's impossible!'

"I'm sure his ninja registration form has a picture of him without his mask." A person with a camera says. The four of them turn to him, Einjeru with her eyes narrowed. The person sweat-dropped as Sasuke asked who he was. The person says, "I'm Sukea. I'm a photographer. I travel around the five great nations looking for scoops."

Naruto was concerned about him hearing them, and Sakura bopped him on the head about it. Sasuke came to realize a rule about the ninja registration form photo being of their whole face. Sukea asked if he could join in on the venture. Sasuke asked of his motives which Einjeru decides to take on. "You guys go ahead. I need to talk with Sukea, _alone_."

Sukea started sweating as Einjeru gave him scrutinizing looks. He immediately calmed and his voice changed. "Say it. You know who I am don't you?" Einjeru became the one sweating as she stuttered. "D-d-d-dad… Why are you dressed like that?" He gives a smile and goes into his Sukea voice. "I'm messing with them. You can be in on it if you wish. My ninja photo is out of date anyways. I think I was five when I took it. Either way, you in?" Einjeru smiled. "Why not. I think sneaking in to the file vaults will be kind of fun. I'll be right behind you." Sukea went on ahead and Einjeru took another route to the file vaults, being the last one there.

"Jeez, Einjeru. What kept you? Even Mr. Sukea beat you." Naruto kept ranting, but Einjeru waved it off like Kakashi usually did. "I was formulating a plan. It is likely that we'll get caught by the ANBU if we don't watch it." She then grinned. "Let's start this mission!"

Everyone snuck into the file vaults with Einjeru following at a distance. When they got to a room that required a key, Sasuke was struggling to pick it. Sukea offered a hand and unlocked it with ease. Sasuke wondered what division he was in. Sukea fronted that saying that he was part of the elite guard that reported directly to the hokage. Sasuke then scowled. "The ANBU huh?"

Einjeru smirked having some thoughts. 'Nice. Using the ANBU as a cover sticks true to reality.' They got in with Einjeru sticking to the shadows in case they were snuck up on. Sukea found Kakashi's file saying "Weird. I thought Einjeru's file would be here as well." He thought 'Sorry about this, but we all have to get caught. I'm not ready to divulge my face quite yet. Plus, it is weird, considering we have the same last name that your file isn't with mine.'

Einjeru dropped down and came next to Sukea. "What do you mean?" She looked to see her file wasn't in front of or behind Kakashi's. "What the hell?! Where's my file at?!" She then realized where she was and covered her mouth. Sukea started pulling out the files and the upper half of Kakashi's face was revealed before a voice said "Don't move! We're taking you in. Make a move and we'll take that as resistance. Depending on the situation, we may have to take you down."

Naruto wanted to sneeze and Einjeru started thinking to herself. 'Damn… This was my fault. I had to yell out about my ninja registration form being missing! Now we won't see dad's face.' She then tried to think of ways to get out of this with the file, but the options were low to begin with.

The ANBU took them to be scolded by Lord Third, which Kakashi held Einjeru and Naruto in place for. He then scolded the squad himself and talked to Sukea. "Really? An infiltration mission?" Sukea apologized and pinned it on them. Einjeru immediately jumped up, ready to beat the crap out of him. "Why you! You planned to blame us from the start! I'm going to kill you!"

Kakashi immediately went to restrain her, apologizing for the behavior. "Calm down Einjeru. He does have experience as an ANBU and he can hurt you." Einjeru was fighting his grip. "I don't care! He was ready to sell us down the river the moment he got. Former ANBU or not, that is not how the Hidden Leaf works, especially with genin!"

Kakashi increased his grip to the point where he was cutting off her air flow. "Relax! I'll put you to sleep if you don't." Sukea managed to persuade Kakashi to put Einjeru down. He took her to eat something alone and discuss why he did what he did.

"Sorry, Einjeru, but I had to do that. Plus, I really didn't see your file. All of us had to be caught in order for this to work." He ordered a barbeque pork platter and allowed her to speak her piece.

"Yeah, thanks dad for selling your daughter and her teammates down the river while you get off scot-free." Einjeru tapped her fingers on the table as the meat cooked. "You owe me big time for letting you drag me into this."

"I'm treating you to barbeque, aren't I? You could at least be grateful."

"Grateful. I got in trouble because of you!"

"I told you, you had a choice. You chose to take part, so you take part in the consequence."

"You know, you could just show us your face."

"Where's the fun in that? Besides, your teamwork is improving with this, even if you are working from the shadows."

"Whatever. I'm out of it after this, and I'm not helping you if you pass out from exhaustion. You've been using shadow clones since you ditched us the first time."

 _Presently_

"Einjeru? Einjeru, snap out of it." Einjeru heard Lord Third's voice and shook her head. "Sorry, Lord Third. I was thinking back to when I first became a genin and we were trying everything to see dad's face, even sneaking here to the vaults. I do have a question. Why is mine not where dads' is?"

"Yours always remains under lock and key in the hokages office. We do this just in case someone comes looking that isn't your garden variety ninja, and because your development is important to the balance of the light and dark of the world. From the moment royalty becomes a shinobi, the file is put in a special drawer to be edited as needed. Speaking of that, it's almost time for your class to retake their ninja registration photos. You guys have changed so much that it's become a necessity."

He hands her Anjera's file. "It's safe to say that I can entrust you with this. A lot of questions you may have will be answered. Just bring it back to me when you're done." He gets a nod in return from Einjeru. "Won't the counsel have your head for this?" He shakes his head. "No not really. It's not like you're not trustworthy. How about we get some barbeque before heading back to the hospital?"

"Sounds good to me sir!" Einjeru follows Lord Third out of the vault, holding her mothers' file tightly. Lord Third chuckles in a grandfatherly manner, following behind her. They head to the barbeque restaurant post haste. They were afraid of what Tsunade would do if they didn't make it back to the hospital before curfew.

Meanwhile, Akuma was assisting Shizune with her errands. "Excuse me, Shizune? Is Lady Tsunade always drunk?" They pause momentarily and Shizune looks at her. "Milady has tried to drink herself into a grave since the third great ninja war. She lost the two people that made up her whole world. The first was her little brother; Nawaki. The second was her lover, my uncle Dan. They both shared the same dream of being hokage and… She gave them the necklace that she got from her grandfather. It was said that the necklace was cursed and that only she could wear it. However, Naruto has managed to make her open up again and still wears the necklace."  
Akuma nodded and remained quiet about that. She sees Einjeru and Lord Third walking into a barbeque restaurant. "Isn't almost Einjeru's curfew?" Shizune looks at the time and sighs. "Yes, it is. We should go with them." Akuma nodded and the two followed Lord Third and Einjeru inside.

As Einjeru and Lord Third sat down, the drink orders were taken. Einjeru ordered a chamomile tea as she intended to try and get some rest when she returned to her room. Shizune and Akuma joined them in an attempt to make sure Einjeru didn't get out of going back to her room. Akuma sat next to Einjeru, who was holding onto Anjera's file for dear life.

"Einjeru, what are you clutching?"

"I'm not clutching anything, I just have a firm grip on it. What does it matter anyway?"

"I want to see."

"No way! I was entrusted to it!"

Akuma sees a picture. "Hey, that looks like mom. Let me see!"

"No! I'm not taking any chances."

Shizune and Lord Third watch Einjeru and Akuma actually act like sisters with their bickering over the portfolio. "It's a rarity to see Einjeru like this Lord Third. She's normally either serious, depressed or explosively angry. It's rather amusing."

"Well, to be honest, she's never acted this way towards anyone besides Naruto and Kakashi. I guess it's a family thing."

Shizune nods and stops the bickering. "Akuma, is it really necessary for you to see that right at this moment?"

Akuma shook her head and Einjeru was stunned that she wasn't getting scolded for a change. "I'm sorry Lady Shizune. I shouldn't have been clutching my moms' file so tightly. That kind of behavior attracts the wrong sort of attention. Either way, I was going to wait until I was back in my room before I opened it."

Shizune nodded and noticed the food was there. "Let's grill up some meat." Everyone silently agreed and there was an ambient silence between the four of them. It was broken when Einjeru gave a proclamation of glee. "I love meat!"

An hour had passed and everyone had their fill. Shizune was about to pull out some money when Lord Third stopped her. "It's ok Shizune. It was my treat to start off with."

"But Lord Third, Akuma and I just intruded on this. At least let me pay half."

"It's ok Shizune. I've told Einjeru this as well. Everyone in the Leaf is my family. Besides, it's a rarity when I see Einjeru so bright and radiant. She's the granddaughter I never had. Plus, she helped me with Konohamaru a lot."

Einjeru looked at Lord Third. "Lord Third, Naruto had the main portion of turning Konohamaru around. All I did was keep him on the path…" She started wondering how the fresh genin was doing.

Akuma noticed the time and paled. "It's almost time for curfew and Lady Tsunade is waiting on us." Shizune paled and felt Tsunade's presence coming closer. Einjeru gulped, praying for her life.

Tsunade came up to the table, surprisingly not glaring. "It's almost time for Einjeru to go back to her room. Why are you still sitting here?"

Einjeru exhaled. "My apologies Lady Tsunade. We were so invested in each other's company that we lost track of the time. We were getting ready to go, but Shizune was arguing with Lord Third over who pays the bill."

Akuma and Shizune looked over at Einjeru like she had grown a second head. Both of them had the same thought. 'What just happened? Einjeru is so calm."

Tsunade was also admittedly shocked. "That's fine, princess." Einjeru sighed. "I figured that would happen. Every time I use my calm side everyone calls me princess. I don't want to be called that, especially here in the village. That's the last thing I need."

Lord Third sighed, knowing the reason all too well. "Tsunade, you already know from the file that she was kidnapped by Danzo. Do you really think that she wants to be acknowledged as such?"

Einjeru silently gets up and keeps her voice straight. "It's fine Lord Third. If you'll excuse me, I have a curfew to make and want to make a visit to the memorial stone before I turn in." She walks out and runs to the seventh training ground.

Back in the hospital room, both Kakashi and the fox sitting in his lap sense duress. "Einjeru seems to be upset about something. Do I have to worry about her running out of the village?" The fox shook her head. "No. We made it so if she was upset about something, she would go to the memorial stone. I need to go. The next you see me, I'll probably be accompanying our cub. Is Akuma going to be staying in Einjeru's room until you're out of the hospital?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure Anjera. However, Akuma needs a place to sleep and Einjeru isn't occupying hers." He pulls a key out and sets it on his bedside table. "If Akuma drops by before the night is over, she'll have access to the apartment."

Anjera nods and leaps out the window. She heads over to the training grounds and hears some sniffles. "I hear a lone wolf…~" Einjeru turns to where she heard it coming from.

"Mom? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Now what happened?"

"I hate being called princess…"

"It's what you are. It's your title."

"Not here! Not in the Hidden Leaf! To most people I'm Einjeru Hatake, daughter of the copy ninja! Yes, I am… a princess, but I hate being acknowledged as such. I want to be acknowledged as me, not by a title and not as just my father's kid. If anything, the title of 'princess' is nothing more than a nasty reminder of the day I found out what I am. It leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, and I hate it."

"You think I enjoy seeing you upset about something you should take pride in? Do you think I enjoy being overprotective of you since that day in the cave? Raising you is not easy."

"The thing is you didn't raise me. For six years I raised myself. For seven years dad raised me and continues to do so in an awkward manner. You only trained me mom. You never bothered to figure out what I liked and you just shoved stuff down my throat. My twin sister wouldn't let me have my thoughts. When I met dad, he piggybacked me and made me feel safe. He let me explore my likes and dislikes. He didn't just shove something down my throat and expect me to like it. He showed me how to do something and made me practice before testing my ability to use it in combat, not show me and thrust me into a combat situation expecting me to master it on the first go!"

"I wanted to! I wanted nothing more than to hold you when you were born, but I was robbed of that chance and you know that. Also, in battle you get no chance to practice. You screw up once and you're toast. Believe it or not, Kakashi is babying you. There are threats way worse than Orochimaru and I was doing what was necessary to prepare you for those threats."

"You mean my grand-uncle? My grandfather's twin brother? _Your_ uncle? The psycho that is supposed to be locked down and his powers rendered useless? Somehow, he has weaseled his way into my head and interfered with my duties as a kunoichi. I broke down on a mission because of this accursed bloodline of ours. You did a poor job of preparing my mind. Body yes, but mind no."

"How did you find out about him?"

"I simply did what you told me to. I asked Lord Third. I skimmed through your file as well as grandpa's before leaving the file vaults. I still have your file because I wanted to read it completely. I want to know what I need to do, otherwise I'll end up having a nervous breakdown."

"My uncle… Maruchero, he was one to play mind-tricks and manipulate others to do his bidding. You need to train your mind, and understand that when you link your mind to others that he can harm them as well. I didn't expect you to find out as much as you did from just skimming through files."

"I learned more by reading than observing and asking you questions."

"I'm sorry about that. My master and anyone associated with us or him that you find outside the confines of the five great nations will have unusual names. I don't know why."

"Maybe it's royalty thing?"

"Maybe. Either way, you need to go back to your hospital room."

Half an hour later, Einjeru walks into the room, seeing Akuma taking the apartment key. "So, I assume she's taking my bed for now?"  
Kakashi nods. "Until I'm back on my feet, Akuma is holding on to my key, but is using your bed."

"Fair enough. I'm beat…" Einjeru's face looked worse for wear.

Akuma left the room, leaving Kakashi and Einjeru to talk. Kakashi's eye drifted over to Einjeru. "Do you want to talk about this?"

"I could, but it won't do me any good. I'm just really tired dad."

Kakashi decides to sing one of Einjeru's favorite soothing lullabies to help her sleep.

"I will not make you a flower

I hope you will stay with us all the time

I will not make you a flower

It will not be broken by the outside wind

If you close your eyes you get drunk

If you open your eyes I feel worried

Disgusting heart

Two of myself

The urge you want to rob and the clean preservation

My reason to be swayed and swaying swiftly

Stupid I cannot even poke the cup's poison

So -

I will not make you a flower

I hope you will stay with us all the time

I will not make you a flower

It will not be broken by the outside wind

As long as you step on someone's feet

Let's keep protecting in the arms all the time

Deep inside the mansion, in the hiding place of the heart

Jealousy and repentance to return

Because I was born as a beast of beauty

I can understand all of beauty

I will not make it a fresh flower alive

I hope you will stay with us all the time

I will not make it a fresh flower alive

It will not be broken by the outside wind…"

Einjeru fell asleep, her face aglow in the moonlight as the light on her side of her room is out. Anjera came in, and laid in Kakashi's lap. "She's not ready. If she goes on anything higher than a C-rank, she'll end up having a nervous breakdown. There's only one person who can train her, but she's not ready. You need to have her meditate more."

"I will, but you need to explain everything because my not knowing could put her and the Hidden Leaf in danger."

Anjera strides to the window. "In time Kakashi. I need to go." She hops out the window, the last thing Kakashi seeing is her black bushy tail disappearing from the corner of the window.

Team Kakashi finished their combat drills for the day and were going over the plans for the following couple of days in a cabin of Yamato's building. They all went to sleep to prepare for two days of non-stop travel.


End file.
